Robert Black said, “The popularity of abstract art is easily explained, when you consider all art represents reality, and mystery is part of our reality.” I chose this large oil on canvas I made a decade ago, simply because it is an “enigma” to me too. Like many abstract artists, I do not plan my abstract pieces; the result amazes me the same way it may surprise the viewer. I cannot fully explain my journey into abstraction, because it was rather “mysterious”. Abstraction allows the artist an opportunity to let the paint and the brush dance to a tune that the artist cannot even hear, I believe; mystery in action.
One of the masters of abstract expressionism, Jackson Pollock described abstract art as, “Energy and motion made visible – memories arrested in space.” I made this particular work in South Africa and I had no idea that I would later spend two years in China (August 2016 – June 2018). I look at this work of mine now and it appears extremely Asian to me. Maybe this work sent a mysterious message I could not understand at the time. Perhaps I should rewrite Pollock’s quote and add “future” memories too.
Just a little note in the margin here: The larger an abstract work, the more imposing it becomes, I believe. I remember once standing in front of an extremely large abstract work and it had large shapes of different blues and browns merging across the canvas. The layout did not particularly strike me as the magnetic force of the work, but the presence of the work almost moved me to tears. It is a pity we do not always have those large canvases within reach. Even if people do not enjoy the mystery of abstraction, they cannot ignore large fields with pulsating colours. Enjoy your day and may we all understand the mysterious messages our works will relay to us.