Dominique Gauthier’s (b. 1953, Paris) paintings refer to the history of abstract art in the twentieth century. The musical title of this composition – Orphique – alludes to a series of paintings created by Robert Delaunay (b. 1885, Paris – d. 1941, Montpellier) and Wassily Kandinsky (b. 1866, Moscow – d. 1944, Neuilly-sur-Seine). Gauthier plays with automatism and the chance nature of production, employing a partly random process to make his paintings. Using painting machines of his own construction, the paint is applied using plastic bags that are punctured with small holes and then set in motion above the canvas. The spiral form is a recurring motif in his work, reflective of the centrifugal force that is used to create it, using a paintbrush attached to a length of string.