Avondval 1999

Eugene Brands made this evocative abstract painting, Avondval, with vivid color and bold gestures. I imagine him standing before the canvas, a brush loaded with black paint, making that first decisive horizontal sweep. Then comes the fiery orange, a burst of energy countered by cool yellow at the bottom. You can almost feel the physicality of the medium, the thick paint dragged across the surface. It is almost as though the artist wants to find some kind of visual harmony; that he wanted to put down a heavy, dominating tone, only to realise it needed some warmth. That heavy black mark at the top might be an anchor, or maybe a question; and that contrasting orange feels like an answer, a statement, but is also a negotiation! Artists like Brands and others are in a constant dialogue across time, each brushstroke a response to what came before, each painting an invitation for us to join the conversation. It's never finished!