Heart Share 1993

Mark Kostabi made this painting called Heart Share, where red, blue and black hues come together to depict a couple embracing. I can almost feel the artist working on this, layering colour to build up the composition and the emotion of the painting. What does it feel like to pour your energy into a painting? I am thinking Kostabi was drawn to explore different sides of emotions. The faceless figures embrace in an act of intimacy. What I am particularly drawn to is the red halo above their heads, which contrasts so much with the other blacks and blues. When I look at this painting, I feel like the couple could be anyone, it could be me. This is what painting is, a constant dialogue, and back and forth between artists, with some leaving traces for others to follow. And that’s how new forms of seeing and experiencing the world emerge.