Untitled 1960

This untitled painting by Joan Hernandez Pijuan is a symphony in black and grey, a masterclass in how to make a few simple marks sing. I love how it feels both accidental and deliberate, like a carefully choreographed dance. The paint is laid on in broad, sweeping gestures, thin in some places, thick in others, creating this wonderful sense of depth. The drips at the centre feel like an admission of vulnerability, a moment where the artist let go and allowed the paint to have its own way. For me the individual marks aren't really the story here, it's more about how they work together to create a unified whole. Pijuan reminds me a little of Franz Kline in his use of bold, gestural brushstrokes, but there’s a lightness and transparency in his work that feels uniquely his own. He shows us that artmaking is always about embracing ambiguity, about finding beauty in the unexpected.