Dibirdibi Country 2011

Sally Gabori made this painting, Dibirdibi Country, using what looks like acrylic paint, laid on pretty thick in some parts. I can just picture her at work: standing, maybe, and really present, moving the paint around with short, intuitive marks. The yellow section, especially, feels like a whole field of dashes, each one loaded with intention. There’s a sense of the surface constantly shifting, with these pulsating colors of red, white, blue, and yellow against that ground of deep aubergine. The whole thing hums with energy, but it’s a grounded kind of energy. Like looking at something both totally abstract, but also full of life. Gabori came to painting later in life, and once she started, she created this whole world of color and form based on her homeland in Queensland, Australia. She reminds me of other artists who came to painting later in life like Carmen Herrera and Etel Adnan, who worked abstractly and also brought this sense of clarity and strength to their paintings. It is an ongoing conversation through time, that is so inspiring.