Test of Fire 1940

Conroy Maddox made ‘Test of Fire’ with paint, maybe watercolor, and ink, and you can see how he lets the paint lay on the surface like it’s having a little holiday. The colors are kind of muted, like they're remembering brighter days, and the shapes wiggle and wave like they're telling a secret. The surface is almost dry, and I can really sense how thin the paint is, like a memory fading at the edges, but then you see the bold black lines that hold it all together, it's quite a trick, isn't it? I am really drawn to the 'flag' element that zig zags through the picture plane, the idea that these soft rainbow colors are somehow being hoisted, the gesture gives a sense of dynamism, a sense of movement. It makes me think of someone like Paul Klee, also interested in the way a few lines and a little colour can make a whole world. It’s like Maddox is whispering, "Hey, let's not take things too seriously," and maybe that's the best kind of test, the one where we let go and see what happens.