Jazz Club 1935

Charles Alston made this watercolor, Jazz Club, at an undetermined date. The way Alston uses the transparent paint to build up his figures really makes you think about artmaking as a process, you can see his hand and the decisions he made. The colors are layered, creating depth and movement across the surface, like the music spilling out from this gathering. There’s a real sense of energy and rhythm, which is so appropriate for the subject matter. I like how he captures the figures in motion, especially the dancer in the red dress, her arm outstretched as she moves to the music. Her dress, though, is where he really lets loose with the brush, the pigment pooling into abstract shapes. This piece reminds me a little of Jacob Lawrence’s work, how he used color and composition to tell stories about Black life and culture, capturing the spirit of a community in a way that feels both intimate and expansive. Both artists understood that art is an ongoing conversation, a way to make sense of the world and share it with others, embracing the ambiguity and multiple interpretations.