36" x 36"
Oil on handmade wood panel
Handmade Morrow Archival pigment and medium
This vibrant and energetic painting is the second in my series exploring Constructivism, a critical analysis of what constitutes color.
Traditional color theories are divided into two prevailing philosophies: John Locke’s subjectivism and scientific objectivism. Locke argued that color is a secondary quality—entirely dependent on the viewer’s perception, making it unique for every observer. In contrast, objectivists define color by the specific wavelengths of light an object reflects.
Constructivism challenges both views, asserting that color is not just a property of an object, nor merely a perception, but rather a result of how an object came to be. It reclaims the intuitive, childlike understanding of color—where red, yellow, and blue serve as primaries, and orange, green, and purple emerge as secondaries.
In Constructivist Orange, I explore this philosophy through a single brush and a curved-line brushstroke technique. Form is deliberately secondary—color itself becomes the meaning of the piece. Look closely, and you’ll find an intricate interplay of hues that may not immediately register as orange: flashes of red, brown, white, and countless subtleties emerge, reshaping the very concept of what "orange" is.
Beyond its theoretical foundation, Constructivist Orange embodies flame, light, and energy — but also meat, fibroblasts, cell cultures, and the complex interplay of organic life. It is both elemental and biological, a vivid meditation on the nature of color and its role in perception.
