Two Bathers 1958

David Park made this painting, "Two Bathers," with visible brushstrokes and a bold palette, probably in his studio. I can almost feel the thick paint being pushed around on the canvas! Imagine Park, stepping back, squinting, adding a dab of orange here, a smear of blue there. These aren't your typical bathers; they’re built from the very stuff of painting. Look at that confident stroke defining the arm of the bather in the foreground. It's not just an arm, it's a statement, a move, a feeling. You sense he’s in conversation with other artists, maybe even pushing back against the art of his time, while nodding to the past. Park's painting is an echo of all the paintings that came before it. It’s a reminder that painting is an ongoing experiment. There is no right or wrong answer, only an artist willing to explore, revise, and reveal something new.