Eleven or K

During the American war in Vietnam (1965-75) many artists protested as activists and also through their art. In contrast to those who used visceral representational imagery for this purpose, Thomas Kapsalis expressed his opposition to the war in subtle ways. Kapsalis, a veteran of World War II who had been a prisoner of war in Germany, reduced his color palette to gradations from black and white, muted colors, and somber tones. Withholding color may have been a formal challenge but it also expressed a feeling of being emptied out and numb. This quiet approach to color contrasts with the animated pulse of shapes, lines, and broken planes that rattle across the surface of the painting. They suggest conflict, sound, and frenzied activity.