Outburst

This abstract oil belongs to Reigl’s Outburst or Eclatement series (1954–56). Using brushes, bent curtain rods, or her hands, the artist applied or threw generous amounts of paint onto the canvas, spreading and scraping it spontaneously and vigorously while leaving large areas of the ground exposed. Here she coaxed paint toward and away from the center to create a powerfully centrifugal composition.

In 1954 André Breton invited Reigl to exhibit her quasi-figurative paintings at a Parisian gallery that featured Surrealist art. After the show she disassociated herself from Breton’s circle but maintained an interest in automatic methods, which informed the unpremeditated manner employed in the Outburst paintings. The title of the series coincides with her rupture with the Surrealists and the beginnings of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.