Standing Shadow, 2013 2013

Richard Hambleton made "Standing Shadow" in 2013, and he used paint, but how he applied it is the story. It's all about gesture. The surface is alive with drips and splatters, and the figure emerges from this chaos of marks. Is it menacing or melancholic? The head is just a dark void exploding outward; that single gesture says it all. The paint isn't precious here; it’s raw and immediate. Hambleton reminds me of artists like Cy Twombly, who also found freedom in looseness. But where Twombly can feel romantic, Hambleton is streetwise. It’s like he’s painting the feeling of walking alone at night, when shadows become threats and the city itself feels like a stage for something unknown. Art's like that, always hinting at more than it reveals.