Dividers Collide 2008

Erik Sigerud made Dividers Collide with paint on canvas, and it's a wild ride! The painting process is so clear – you can see how the layers build up, with these bold stripes and that almost cartoonish grid overhead. It feels like the act of painting itself is part of the subject. The texture is smooth, but the colors – those reds and grays – are laid down so deliberately. The painting is both flat and deep, a real visual puzzle. Look at the black lines snaking through the space; they're almost like a doodle, connecting everything. The way the lines don't quite meet the shapes they outline is almost like a dare, challenging what we think we know about perspective. It reminds me a bit of early David Hockney, how he played with space and color so freely. But Sigerud has his own voice, making something totally unique. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation.