in moments of justice there are always conflicts 2019

A painting serves as a reflection of our inner worlds and our connections to the surrounding environment and to one another. It can depict representations of observed things and events, weave narratives about them, or showcase patterns in the materials and processes that create them. As Karl Ove Knausgaard highlights in his art criticism, works of art accomplish this through concrete and precise depictions—whether it’s a person standing, a hand pouring from a pitcher, a landscape featuring a tree and a hill, or a specific line of color on a grayish ochre surface. These vivid representations evoke the inexhaustible nature of our relationships with the world, capturing our complex yet sometimes straightforward desires to see ourselves recognized within it. This notion resonates across a variety of works, from the prints of Utagawa Hiroshige to the contemporary painting of Anselm Kiefer, as well as Nok sculptures portraying a group of people or a man resting his chin on his knee. The patterns of weavings from Ghana, the material movement and weight in El Anatsui’s sculptures, the specific narratives depicted in the images of Lorna Simpson, and the Australian Aboriginal patterns that trace the connections and movements of people across their lands all contribute to this expansive dialogue. Additionally, the choreographed locations of color and bodily contact in the works of artists like John Walker or Chitra Ganesh further this exploration. The list goes on, encompassing expressions of tragedy, conflict, injustice, as well as exuberance and the inexhaustible translations of our shared experiences, all of which enrich the landscape of contemporary painting.