Chelsea 2014

Patrick Pietropoli made this painting called 'Chelsea' with oil on canvas, a way of seeing and feeling a place through building it up and taking it away again. I can see the artist using muted shades to capture the iconic cityscape, but instead of crisp lines, everything blurs, dissolves. The artist is building up the image but simultaneously washing it away, creating a layered effect that feels like a memory fading in and out of focus. I wonder if Pietropoli was thinking about the ephemeral nature of cities, always changing, always becoming something else? The brushstrokes are loose, almost frantic, as if to capture the energy and chaos of the urban environment. It reminds me a bit of Turner, who liked to depict the weather and industry of London. Ultimately, it is these gestures that suggest we are all in this conversation of painting together, finding new ways to see and express our experiences of the world.