Via-Sacra 1960

Aldo Locatelli made this painting, Via-Sacra, and right away I'm struck by the muted palette. It's like he mixed a little gray into every color, which gives the whole thing a somber, heavy feeling. You can tell artmaking for Locatelli was a process, an endeavor. Looking at the texture, there’s a real materiality to this piece. The paint isn’t trying to hide. It feels thick in places, almost like he was sculpting with it. See the feet there? How the toes are so detailed, and how the light catches the ridges in the skin. They're huge and in your face! And yet there's that small mouse down there. The grays and browns might remind you of an artist like Gerhard Richter in his earlier photo paintings, where the image feels like it’s emerging from a fog. Ultimately, Locatelli shows us that art doesn’t have to be about answers. Sometimes, the most powerful thing it can do is sit with the questions.