Brouclé 1973

Maurice Esteve made this oil painting called ‘Brouclé’ and straight away I imagine him trying to solve a puzzle with paint. There’s a real playful use of geometric and organic shapes which come together in this joyous dance. And what a colour palette! This is not a painting that whispers, it shouts. I can almost see him flicking his brush, trying out which colours balance and how they play off against each other. It’s interesting to consider the influence of Matisse. The way the artist orchestrates simplified shapes and blocks of saturated colour, brings a similar sensation. Painting is a kind of conversation, right? Artists are always riffing off one another, answering back, keeping the dialogue going through time. It’s such a delicious painting, isn't it? A reminder that painting is a form of embodied expression, a playground where ambiguity and uncertainty reign supreme.