Vertical Reckoning 01

Description

Vertical Reckoning 01
Mixed media on canvas

A commanding field of cadmium red anchors this composition, its raw, unprimed edges left visible as a deliberate frame within the frame — a reminder of the canvas as object, not just surface. Across this ground, blocks of ochre and burnt sienna sit alongside passages of vivid turquoise, their edges stitched or bound by fine golden threadwork that reads like the outline of a map or ledger page.

Four bold black verticals cut through the composition with calligraphic confidence, their varying lengths and slight irregularities lending the gesture a handwritten, almost signature-like quality — vertical strokes that could be read as tally marks, figures, or a private notation system. Small flicks of scarlet punctuate the turquoise passages, adding a pulse of warmth within the cooler tones.

The artist’s inscription of the date, “2026,” rendered directly into the lower corner alongside an impressed wax-like seal, underscores the work’s documentary character — this is a painting that behaves like a record, a page torn from a larger visual ledger. The interplay of raw canvas, textured impasto, and fine linear detail rewards sustained looking, with the piece balancing structural rigour against the loose, gestural energy of its markmaking.

Framed here in a simple black frame on a white mount, the overall frame size is 42.0cm x 32.0cm.