Cannes jaune 1991

Alexandre Istrati made Cannes jaune with a collection of bright, bold colors and energetic marks. It looks like an active process, right? The colors here feel almost Fauvist, like Matisse, but messier, rawer. There’s a real physicality to the paint. It's not about blending or making things smooth, but about the pure gesture of laying color down, almost like a performance. The strokes are direct, with visible brushwork, giving a sense of immediacy. Look at the way Istrati uses black lines weaving through, and holding everything together. This feels like an artist who’s not trying to hide anything. It reminds me a little bit of Joan Mitchell, in that shared love for color and a willingness to let the painting be a record of its own making. It’s like Istrati’s saying, “Here’s what happened when I put paint on this surface,” and that honesty is what makes it so compelling.