People, Birds and Sun 1954

Karel Appel made this painting, "People, Birds and Sun," with oil paint in 1954. Look at the surface, all rough and chunky. You can feel the artist at work: the build-up of color, the dragging of the brush, and those assertive strokes which pull the composition into being. I imagine Appel, brush in hand, almost wrestling with the paint. He’s pushing it around, scraping it back, maybe even squeezing it straight from the tube! It’s a struggle to resolve the figures and shapes. The texture tells a story of layering, revision, and those thick strokes almost feel like they are searching for the painting within the painting. I love how the red arcs at the bottom ground the more chaotic elements. It makes me think of Joan Miró. Artists are always looking at each other, riffing off each other’s ideas, it's one big conversation through paint! Ultimately, it’s an invitation to join the conversation, to find your own meaning in the push and pull of color and form.