Black Warrior 1940

Cyprián Majerník made Black Warrior with oil on canvas, and it’s the directness of the marks that grabs me. It feels like I’m looking at the painting process itself. There’s something about the texture, the way the paint sits on the surface – you can almost feel the bristles of the brush. The colours aren’t blended much; they’re laid down in distinct strokes. Look at the figure’s headdress; it’s like a storm of browns and tans, each dab of paint holding its own. Then, the stark white slashes on the face, so immediate and bold. It’s a raw, visceral approach, where each gesture is visible. I’m reminded a bit of Beckmann, in the sense of how the human figure is rendered so powerfully. But Majerník has his own voice, a unique way of making paint come alive. The painting embraces the tension between representation and pure materiality, which keeps the image open and alive.