Metapsychical Landscape comes from a series of works Dubuffet referred to as “momentary places.” Rather than painting a traditional landscape, he chose instead to present a vision of abstract, organic matter that seems to vibrate with physical and emotional energy. Realism is not completely abandoned; the painting has a discernible horizon line and the rough surface can be seen as a cross section of the earth. The irregularity of the landscape’s surface gives it a sense of movement as well as depth. Dubuffet created the painting’s coarse texture with several techniques, including using turpentine on freshly painted areas and scraping the work’s surface with a knife. This achieved what the artist called “effects that resemble abraded skin.”

July 22, 2020