Broadwater 2007

Devin Leonardi, who sadly died too young, made this painting, Broadwater, using thin washes to create the image. The composition is a somber almost noir landscape with men wearing hats looking down at a watery surface. You know, I think he might have been feeling melancholy when he made this. It’s as if he saw the world through a veil of sorrow, each brushstroke carrying a sense of longing. I can almost feel the solitude Leonardi experienced, that day. The sepia tones evoke history and the quiet stillness of the scene invites introspection. It reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photographs, a sense of something just beyond our grasp. The artist is in conversation with other artists - it's all about call and response, and an artist like Leonardi teaches us to embrace uncertainty, and accept the multiple layers of meaning inherent in our lived experience.