Mist 2013

Charles Gibbons made "Mist", sometime after 1957 with paint, and it’s all about process, like a recipe unfolding right before your eyes. Look at how the colors are laid down in these rhythmic bands, it’s almost like he's letting the paint lead the way, not the other way around. The texture is really present here; you can practically feel the drag of the brush across the surface. There’s a gorgeous drip of yellow near the bottom that just refuses to be contained, which is great. It reminds me of some of Gerhard Richter’s squeegee paintings, but with a more playful, less controlled vibe. Where Richter uses abstraction to explore the image, here Gibbons uses colour to explore the gesture. Ultimately, “Mist” invites you to get lost in the making, to embrace the unexpected, and to see painting as a fluid, ever-evolving conversation.