From the Water and Earth

A small, square, oil on panel painting by American Artist, Michael Rich. From the Water and Earth is an abstraction, inspired by the natural world. Michael is greatly inspired by the romantic poetry of Pablo Neruda, who use the landscape as metaphor for love and the body. Michael's work, whether in large scale or in these small studies, attempts to link a kind of romanticism with a minimal and gestural style of abstraction. The physicality and visceral handling of paint makes the body ever-present in his work.