Pollock and the Executive: A Case Study in Art for Emotional Balance

Jackson Pollock, One No. 31,

When choosing art for home—especially for your most private spaces, like your bedroom—consider not just what you find beautiful, but what brings balance to your life. Read on to discover how you can utilize art for emotional balance and personal growth when choosing art for your home.

Today, I want to share the story of Mark, a legal and business executive, as a case study.

Mark had a chaotic upbringing and largely had to forge his own path. He put himself through business school, earned his MBA and law degree, and built a remarkably stable, deliberate career. Every major decision in his life was carefully weighed and executed.

While he had a general appreciation for art, he didn’t have much formal background. When we talked, he shared that he felt especially drawn to Jackson Pollock. This made perfect sense. On one hand, Pollock’s splatter paintings—wild, kinetic, chaotic—offered a sharp contrast to Mark’s highly structured daily life: workout, work, parenting, intentional continued learning. His work world is especially full of order: teams moving according to development plans, cases handled methodically, outcomes forecasted and controlled.

Pollock’s work, at first glance, seems like the opposite: spontaneous, unpredictable, explosive. It represents something Mark rarely allows himself—cutting loose, embracing chaos, letting go. Bringing a piece like this into his most private space wasn't about “fixing” something in him. It was about creating a counterweight. It offered a psychological balance to the constant deliberateness of his work life.

Jackson Pollock, No. 33, 1949

But there’s more to it than simply embracing chaos. Pollock’s paintings are not random acts of unskilled spontaneity. They are masterful, intuitive works—born from deep technical ability and years of refinement. His splatters are deliberate at a deeper, almost unconscious level, the product of skilled honed into intuition over time.

This mirrors something profoundly aspirational for Mark—and perhaps for many of us. It’s the idea that, through discipline and mastery, we can reach a point where we act fluidly, instinctively, without overthinking. Where the conscious control can finally fall away, and our skill speaks for itself.

This makes Pollock not just a chaotic figure in Mark’s life, but a model for growth: mastery that leads to true freedom. It is not the universal meaning of Jackson Pollock's art, but rather the personal meaning Mark subconsciously derived from it. By placing a high-quality Pollock reproduction in a sanctuary space for him, Mark is using art to transform his life.

Serigraph reproduction of Jackson Pollock's No 33 in a quiet, reflective setting. What would a daily reminder of unleashed ability through years of building mastery do you for?

Takeaway for You

The lesson here isn’t necessarily, “Put a Pollock in your bedroom.”

It’s this:

When you find yourself drawn to a piece of art—especially if you don’t quite understand why—pay attention. That artwork may be calling out to balance something in you. Whether it’s an original, a print, or even a photograph, consider bringing that piece into your sanctuary space. It may quietly help you reconnect with parts of yourself you didn’t even realize were out of balance.

Related Reading

• See here for my own case study about Helen Frankenthaler—an abstract expressionist whose work brought a surprising sense of balance and emotional depth into my life.

• See here for further guidance on using art intentionally to create balance in your home.

Note: This article is based on a true individual. His name and identifying details have been changed to protect his privacy.