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No Need for Explanations

Springtime 2007. I’m aboard the “Europa”, German ship from the company Hapag-Lloyd; the one we usually take for our trips to Hamburg. The sea is quite rough today and after having my relaxing though not very quiet breakfast I start to read the newspaper Die Welt. In the culture section there’s an interview with a famous painter who currently has an exhibition in Hamburg. 

Upon reading this interview I’m reminded of a theory I have formulated and perfected over the years about the explanations painters give on form, substance and the finished work. Every time I read some of these comments, I reach the same conclusion I have always defended: the work of art must be approached through observation but not analysis. That is why I believe all explanations can be spared, be it about the theme of the painting, it’s space or dimensionality. They are all to be spared because often painters aim to explain the inexplicable. They try to turn existential moments essential (even inadvertently); some of them even lie, also often inadvertently, all to give an answer to everything. The interviewee feels they are the protagonist of a piece that has already acquired a life of its own and it’s thus the only protagonist. 

One must look at paintings with the eyes of a child; with a pure gaze free of analysis. One must approach the painting becoming a part of it, not wanting to possess it, not looking for anything in particular. Only then will we discover its beauty… free from analysis. 


I’ll get up from my desk now, kiss my love and go out for a walk. 



Jorge Rando, sailing, May 2007