White chapel 1951

Eugene Brands gave us this ‘White Chapel’ in oil paint, and it's like peering into a dream. The colors are muted, almost like a foggy memory, and the strokes are so free, so alive! I can almost feel him painting, stepping back, squinting, then diving back in. There’s this big, goofy, wonderful figure on the left. It’s so awkwardly rendered, it feels deeply human. He’s part of the CoBrA group, and you see that spirit here – raw, childlike, but incredibly knowing. It's like he’s after something more profound than just what's visible. It’s the feeling of a place, the mood of a moment, rendered with such playful honesty. I love the church. It seems familiar but also distant, distorted even. It reminds me of other painters who aren't afraid to be vulnerable and authentic, like Joan Mitchell. They remind us that art is this continuous, messy conversation.