Matt Kleberg interviews painter Clare Grill whose exhibition Petal, Pedal, Peddle will be on view at Fred Giampietro Gallery, New Haven, through October 4, 2014.

Asked about when a painting is done, Grill comments that it's "when a painting looks back at you, when it has a face. When it has a presence, it says 'I exist, so don’t mess with me.' I know that sounds confrontational and I don’t mean it to be, but that’s when. When I believe it or when it doesn’t feel toxic in the space any more… Because until they are finished, they do feel jarring and irritating. These over here are all unfinished. And it could be a really tiny move or a total face-lift that is needed. I really work from that place, that felt place. I am just trying to situate these paintings in that buzzing, in-between space where they are just paintings. It sounds dumb, but that is what it is. They are just paintings."