Year: 2022
Medium: cast urethane resin, fiber glass, epoxy
Dimensions: 182.9 x 170.2 cm (71 5/8 x 66 5/8 in.)
Acquired from Sotheby’s, 2022
This work represents Sullivan’s production style in recent years. Paints and colored resin are layered gradually on a rubber formwork placed horizontally. Through the layering of materials, the painting acquires a tangible physicality as a coating film with a certain thickness. Throughout this process, the artist constantly keeps his eyes on the backside of the painting rather than the original front side. It is only when the painting is removed from the formwork and turned over that the artist gets to see the finished work for the first time. In general, artists evaluate the progress of the work while adding layers of paint each time. There is a conventional painting technique called reverse painting, in which the artist paints on the backside of a glass, and it is only possible with transparent glass. Even if Lucio Fontana had torn up the canvas or Jackson Pollock had splashed paint on it, this premise of the painting would not have been overturned. In this work, the misty yellow and dark brown background here and there are shown in geometric forms, while the lower part of the painting is painted with bold strokes of soft and cool-toned hues. In the finer details, the liquid colors seem to have mixed in a puddle of water, showing a delicate expression that cannot be brought out by a paintbrush. These subtle effects may indicate the fact that this work was not painted vertically, but layered horizontally.
