Jockey Up 1959

LeRoy Neiman made this painting, Jockey Up, with juicy strokes of oil paint. The canvas is awash with vibrant colors, like a carnival in full swing. I can almost feel the artist's hand, see him loading up his brush with thick globs of paint, slashing and swirling them across the surface. The horse and jockey emerge as a dance of color and form. A splash of white becomes a horse’s head; a curve of pink, the jockey’s jacket. It’s like Neiman is trying to capture the energy of the racetrack, the blur of motion, the excitement of the crowd. I bet he was chasing after something, an elusive feeling, maybe. It reminds me of the Fauves, those wild beasts of color, and even a bit of de Kooning’s chaotic energy. It’s all part of this ongoing conversation among painters, across time and space. Each one of us trying to make sense of the world, one brushstroke at a time.