| Bold, exuberant, and enigmatic, Red Star is characteristic of the work of
Raymond Saunders. He combines powerfully painted fields of vibrant color with
calligraphic
marks and stenciled numbers in his gestural probing of personal identity. Rooted
in the urban experience, Saunders’ expressionistically worked surfaces
pulse with open-ended dialogue. The cacophony of traffic and other sounds combine
in almost jazzlike motifs across canvases that function like walls covered with
graffiti, as evidence of human existence. Fragmented and simultaneous, the “push-pull” continues
beyond the picture plane. Apparently random yet thoroughly structured, Saunders’ paintings
and collages record and communicate ideas as he embraces the diversity of experience
as a way of life. . . .
:: Susan Badder, Senior Curator of Education
Corcoran Gallery of Art |
Text excerpted from A Capital Collection: Masterworks from
the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
:: Purchase A Capital Collection online
:: The Curator's Journals Project
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