Velato 2007

Enzo Cucchi made this strange and beautiful little painting, ‘Velato’, with oil on canvas. Immediately, I’m drawn to the earthiness, the way Cucchi builds up the surface with visible strokes, almost sculptural. It’s so process-oriented, laid bare for us. Check out the ear on the left – it feels monumental, like some ancient ruin. Then there’s the figure on the right, rendered in these intense greens and blacks, clutching what looks like a small box or a reliquary. The impasto is particularly thick here, giving the figure a tangible weight. It is as though the paint becomes a metaphor for the weight of history, of memory, or perhaps just the weight of being. Cucchi's work often reminds me of early Philip Guston, that same raw, emotive energy. And like Guston, Cucchi isn’t afraid to embrace ambiguity, leaving us to wander through the painting, piecing together our own narratives.