Mel Bochner Amazing, 2020 is an eye-catching presentation of brightly colored words formed in satisfyingly thick daubs of oil paint. Beginning with the word AMAZING!, the piece entrancingly continues with an exhaustive list of synonyms, further and further reaffirming the meaning of the word "amazing," and each ending with an irreverent exclamation point. There is something undeniably child-like in the large, sans-serif font, the pure colors, and the bold and unrestrained application of color, and it is perhaps the child-like nature of the piece that gives it its remarkable wit and humor, exemplary of Bochner’s smart and striking artistic style.

Bochner would choose words from a thesaurus, and arrange the words to fit a designated format, in this case, rectangle. Bochner elaborates on his process, comparing it to “a sort of degegeneration of language, as it moves from the more polite and formal to the more vulgar and bodily” (Bochner, A Conversation between Mel Bochner and Barry Schwabsky, Mel Bochner Monoprints, New York: Two Palms, 2012).  Pure oil paint with strong pigmentation make up the lettering of this language based artwork. The glossy and thick impasto of the paint is raised in a painterly relief against the mat, and flat background of the collaged paper base, providing for a visually alluring contrast in texture.

Created in 2020, this monoprint in oil paint with collage, engraving and embossment on handmade paper is hand-signed and dated by Mel Bochner (Pittsburgh, 1940 – ) in pencil. Mel Bochner Amazing, 2020 is a unique and original work.