Untitled 1959

Vilen Barsky made this untitled painting with bold strokes and a striking palette of blues, oranges, and reds, punctuated by a deep, grounding black. I imagine the act of painting itself, a push-and-pull of color, a dance of intuition and control. I feel the artist's presence in each loaded brushstroke, and the decisions he made along the way. Like when to let the colors collide, when to let the dark take over, and when to pull back into the light. The paint is thick, almost sculptural, inviting you to run your fingers across the surface. See how the yellow cuts through the darker tones, a burst of sunlight disrupting the shadows? It’s like a fleeting moment of clarity amidst chaos. Barsky converses with artists like Joan Mitchell, whose emotive abstraction similarly turns inward. Each of these painters offer us a way to see, think, and experience the world. Ambiguity reigns supreme, and there are infinite interpretations and meaning.