Peter Lanyon

at TATE

Lost Mine, 1959

You are deep underground. Everything is a hue of black. Suddenly, the water is flooding the place(blue). You see water pouring in from everywhere. Now, seemingly strong and solid structure holding up the place start to crumble. You understand that it is not only the structure collapsing it is your life(red). Some flares of (white) hope keep you running for the exit. But the only things you see in the escape opening are the new waves of blue ruthless water.

Carolyn Carr

at Spanierman Gallery

Slope, 2004

One of the main attractions of slopes is overcoming your own  fear. The danger is right in the center (the black structure) and still you masterfully negotiate the slope(the pink structure). What is rewarding in defying the most basic instinct : self-preservation? Are you preparing for future real battles? Or do you like challenge death and thus becoming somewhat immortal?

Julie Schumer

at Emily Amy Gallery

Ridgeline

You are walking on clouds. You are so afraid to look down. Sometimes the clouds seem pretty solid. But sometimes they open up and you can see a ridge bellow you. It is frighting and exciting at the same time. But you are afraid to plunge down. You prefer to stay on illusory "solid ground". But it is delusive, you will fall eventually. The problem is it would not be on your terms.

Amanda Talley

at Ann Connelly Fine Art

Shadows

You are getting a feeling that someone is watching you. You are getting nervous, almost paranoid. You are afraid of anyone following you. The problem is that you don't do anything worth hiding. But anyway you jump on every unexpected sound. And then you realize that this is your shadow. You are afraid of yourself. You are your worst enemy. This is true not only how you can treat yourself, for you know yourself best.

Amy Sillman

at Campoli Presti

A Shape that Stands Up and Listens #2, 2012 

Fear. You jump from every slight shadow ( a grey background figure in the middle). The fear makes you imagine things much more powerful and a lot frightful than they really are (a black silhouette at the right part of the painting). The fear shackles you (the grey figure from lower left corner to right middle). The fear leads you to a wrong direction, thus making the most damage to you.

Peter Halley

at Mary Boone Gallery

Panic Room, 2002

Fear, panic. chaos.
The panic room is the safest place in a house(the red rectangle with white bars in the center). But there is the panic at its highest. The room is built on fear and with fear(the yellow rectangle around the red one). The fear is fed by a bunch of external sources ( yellow lines coming into the yellow rectangle). You can't escape the fear, it is inside you. The panic room is not a safe place, it is a trap.

Eva Hesse

at Kukje Gallery (TEFAF Maastricht 2012)

No Title, 1960

Fear. It is full of jealousy, intolerance (yellow), steel(gray). The threat looks like a bomb coming your way(The big black figure slightly off center to the right). It is inevitable. You are frozen, can't move. You feel trapped in a steel cage(gray frame around the picture). But there is hope(white figures). There is always hope. That's why people do anything when they are really afraid. And the bomb looks a lot like an amphora, so this is not new.

Joan Mitchell

Joan Mitchell at Barbara Mathes gallery (Art Basel Miami Beach 2011)

Untitled

You saw it coming. There were early hints(black lines). But you had hoped that it was nothing. Even if it would have something, it would have been something minor. And then you came up to the black square in the middle. That's where you have realized that this is it. The end. You are standing in front of frightening black square.Other people still have hope(blue squares), but you understand than no matter what you do, you will return to the same black square. No escape.

Chu Teh-Chun

Chu Teh-Chun at Marlborough Gallery

MAR 08 No 14

Those big black/grey blocks is your fear. Fear to follow your dream that lies beyond this solid stone fence. The obstacle  is your rationalization not to make the jump. It's your love for stability and your dependence on familiar things that you can't stand any more.And out there lies your dream - airy, magical. It's a castle built on tree branches. The branches themselves are flying in the air. But you are imaging it very vividly. It's a new world full of wonderful things and pleasant surprises.You are not a fool, you know that new world is not perfect (grey blobs in the upper left). Your dream slowly sips through the border fence(Turquoise and red spots on the grey blocks).