Sunset 2013

Alfred Freddy Krupa created this black and white work to capture a landscape featuring a sunset. It’s a work of contrasts, isn’t it? With its bright burst of light over a dark body of water, the clouds looking almost like soft velvet against the stark horizon. I can almost feel the weight of the artist’s hand as they worked, the delicate balancing act between dark and light, the way the white highlights almost seem to vibrate off the surface. What I find so moving is the way it speaks to a lineage, a tradition of capturing light that runs through Turner, Monet, and the work of so many painters trying to grasp something as ineffable as the sky. Painting is like having a conversation across time, each artist building on the insights of those who came before, and I find a piece like this such a powerful reminder of that.