Capsaicin

Capsaicin is a 50 × 41 cm acrylic on canvas from 2010 — one of the most vividly coloured works in Walt Viviers' early catalogue. The title names the compound that gives chillies their heat, and the painting channels that same intensity: tropical Bird of Paradise blooms and lush foliage are rendered in saturated oranges, reds, yellows, and deep greens, the forms building across the canvas in a dense, overlapping tangle that crackles with chromatic energy. The composition's warmth is almost physical. A layered, heavily worked surface gives the painting real presence, and the balance between the fiery florals and the cool greens of the tropical leaves creates a tension that holds the eye. The original is available for acquisition.