There are few phrases in the English language more efficient than “Oh well, that’s the way it goes.”

Bad day? Oh well.
Missed flight? Oh well.
Stock market down? Oh well.
Bought the wrong painting? Okay—that one we can probably help with.

Mel Bochner spent much of his career reminding us that the words we toss around every day are considerably stranger—and more revealing—than we realize.

His Oh Well, That’s the Way It Goes… from 2012 takes one of our favorite verbal shrugs and blows it up to more than five feet tall. Executed in oil on velvet, the painting transforms resignation into something colorful, funny, slightly cynical, and surprisingly beautiful.

Mel Bochner (1940–2025)
Oh Well, That’s the Way It Goes…, 2012
Oil on velvet
160 × 120 cm (63 × 47¼ in.)
Provenance: Two Palms Gallery, New York; Private Collection, Dubai / Zurich

Bochner understood something the rest of us eventually figure out: sometimes there really isn’t anything left to say.

Oh well.

Currently available through Robin Rile Fine Art. Please contact us for pricing and additional information.