Abstraction in Black: Humor within Monochrome

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 4ft x 4ft
Creation Date: 2020

Abstraction in Black (2020) is part of my Playful Abstraction Collection, created as an exploration of how even the most austere palettes can hold playfulness, mischief, and contradiction. This 48 x 48 inch acrylic on canvas pulses with variations of black — matte, glossy, textured — layered and overlapped to create shifting surfaces and depths.

The painting pokes at the language of monochrome, interrupting the seriousness of black with irregular forms and subtle gestures that feel almost like inside jokes. In this work, black is not void; it is crowded with movement, humor, and an irreverent refusal to conform.

I see Abstraction in Black resonating with the spirit of Mary Heilmann, whose use of vibrant color and quirky geometries disrupts the weight of minimalism. Like Heilmann, I aim to infuse abstraction with a sense of play, to break the rules of formality while still respecting their foundations.

This painting invites the viewer to look beyond the surface, to see how black contains multitudes — of gesture, texture, and story. It is less about solemnity and more about embracing the absurdities within restraint.