Untitled 1987

Curator: This is an Untitled work by William Tucker, currently held in the Tate Collections. I'm struck by the raw application of pigment. What's your first impression? Editor: It feels primal, almost violent in its gesture. The colors – earth tones mostly – give it a sense of ancient power, like a cave painting unearthed. Curator: I think you’ve hit upon something key. Tucker, trained as a sculptor, really pushes the materiality of paint here. Look how the brushstrokes create a palpable sense of mass and form, challenging traditional notions of drawing. Editor: It's like he's sculpting with the paint itself! It makes me think about the artist’s physical engagement with the medium, the labor involved. Curator: Exactly! And that labor, that process of making, becomes the subject itself. Editor: It's interesting to consider that physical process—it really shifts how I see the final piece. Curator: Indeed. It highlights how form emerges from process, challenging preconceived notions. Editor: A powerful work—it lingers in the mind.