Selva (Series A) 1987

Karl Otto Götz made this print, Selva, and it’s a wild ride of brown and black marks across a white field. Just looking at it, I imagine the artist flinging ink across the surface, each stroke a burst of energy. You can see the texture of the ink, how it pools in some areas and thins out in others. There’s a dance between control and chance, and that tension, I think, makes the piece so alive. That one big swoosh in the upper left corner, you can feel the speed of it, the artist’s hand moving quickly, decisively, like he's ice skating on paper! Götz was part of a group called “informel” painters in Germany, which included folks like Wols and Gerhard Richter. They were all pushing at the edges of what painting could be, embracing accident and intuition. I always feel like artists are in an ongoing conversation, riffing off each other’s ideas, and Götz is no exception. His marks leave room for interpretation. This piece really lets you bring your own feelings to it.