Untitled 2017

Lucy Ivanova made this untitled artwork with a variety of gestural marks in a palette of black, white, blue, red and green paint. You can see the way the painting has come into being through layering, building, and wiping away. I sympathize with the artist in the dance of creation, the back and forth of applying and obscuring. What might Lucy have been thinking when she made it? I imagine that it would have been like writing poetry, one brushstroke at a time. The paint is thickly applied, particularly in the dark areas. It gives the painting a physical presence, like sculpture. Look at that juicy daub of green at the upper right – the gesture communicates exuberance. It's cool how artists are in conversation, you know? Lucy's work makes me think of other painters like Joan Mitchell, and even Gerhard Richter. Each artist has a unique voice, but there's a shared understanding. Painting is an embodied practice – a way of expressing ambiguity, allowing multiple interpretations.