A History of the Heart in Three Rainbows, Francesco Clemente’s new work at Deitch Projects, is more of a chapel than an exhibition. This effect is partially due to the watercolor medium, which on such a grand scale implies the cloudy translucence of stained glass. The piece consists of three sets of five enormous panels – all of which the artist has cut from three 60-foot-long paintings of rainbows that the press release boasts were likely the largest watercolor ever created. Each of the series constructs a rainbow out of their respective five panels, the first two vertically, the third horizontally. We are told that their effusive, bright coloring represents a spiritual epiphany for the artist, who had painted in darker tones before.

This is a great exhibition. Its subject is nothing less than the epistemological triumph of love. Clemente’s passion for existence, and for the transcendent bond that can be achieved between lovers (his wife’s image dominates much of his art) touches deeply. I liked it to the point that evaluation seems loathsome. It’s better to just sit in the middle of it. Go when nobody else is there.