Man with children 1914 - 1918

Zygmunt Waliszewski's “Man with Children” is a painting with a rough-and-tumble surface. You can tell he's not precious with the paint; it's all about the doing. The colors are mostly muted, but there's this wild yellow, almost acidic, that pops up, making the whole thing vibrate. It’s like he’s digging into the materiality of paint itself. Look at how the pinks and browns of the figures are laid down in solid, blocky strokes. There's a real physicality to it, isn't there? I'm drawn to the way the white paint is applied in thick dabs. It is like little explosions of light, adding depth and texture. Waliszewski’s work reminds me of Chaim Soutine; both artists make paintings which feel like they’re wrestling with something raw and untamed. It’s this tension, this willingness to embrace the messy, unresolved aspects of art-making, that really grabs me.