Blue Lasso – 1990 – Large-Scale Abstract Oil Painting – John Millei

A commanding presence in any interior, this monumental 8 × 8 foot canvas by John Millei is executed entirely within a single cobalt-to-ultramarine blue register, differentiating ground from mark through surface sheen and paint density rather than color contrast. Sweeping elliptical loops, many approaching arm-span in width, are applied in a lighter, more reflective blue into a semi-absorbent acrylic emulsion ground, producing soft-edged forms that emerge from and dissolve back into the field. Horizontal striations beneath the looping gestures create optical vibration as light moves across the surface. The mixed-media, oil on acrylic emulsion on gesso on canvas, is consistent with Millei’s material experimentation of the period. Titled, signed, and dated on verso.