Composition (Brun) 1933

John Ferren made this painting called "Composition (Brun)" and I'm drawn to how the shapes and marks have this 'not quite right' quality. You know, the way things can be in the studio when you're pushing paint around, figuring things out. The brown in "Composition (Brun)" is almost like the ground, or maybe the underpainting, and the marks sit on top. The white feels like it's been dragged across, leaving a little trail of texture. The opacity shifts, it's not hiding anything, not trying to trick you into thinking it's smooth. There's this funny little green crescent down near the bottom that seems a bit out of place. I really enjoy how it complicates the whole picture. It reminds me a bit of Guston's late work, where he got all cartoony and loose, but with more restraint. It's like Ferren's letting the painting just be what it is: a record of the decisions he made. And maybe, that’s enough.