Jonathan Lasker Why Opinions Form, 2021
Oil on linen
152 x 203 cm
American painter Jonathan Lasker is known for his distinctive formal vocabulary based on different mark-making processes, including structural grids, graphic scribbled lines and thick impasto strokes of paint. Although he creates these forms intuitively, the compositions themselves are highly structured and controlled. As he explains, ‘I use random, unconscious marks, to consciously compose the constituent shapes within the picture. In other words, I seek to confront the unbounded subconscious with the containment of bounded forms.’
In Why Opinions Form (2021), exuberant sherbet-coloured shapes seem to converse and interact on the canvas, while a single sober black outline recaptures the silhouette of one of the shapes. Together with his playful composition, the title of the painting, ‘Why Opinions Form’, brings viewers to the edge of representation, encouraging them to find meaning by connecting the disparate elements that constitute the work.
