Paris #27 1957

Muriel Goodwin made this painting, *Paris #27*, with ink on paper. Just one gesture is enough. I’m looking at the dark ink as it hits the surface, and I imagine Goodwin’s hand moving down the page, pushing and pulling, allowing the ink to pool and disperse with total fluidity. It’s a single movement, interrupted by the pressure of the brush—the bristles splaying apart, creating an image that is both forceful and delicate. Was Goodwin thinking of Franz Kline, the Abstract Expressionist known for his large black and white paintings? Or maybe she was thinking of a tree? I don’t know. But I feel Goodwin responding to the city around her, filtering her experiences onto the page with boldness and sensitivity. Artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas. With painting, it’s never just one way of seeing or feeling. It’s always multiple, always open.