Pendulum 1972

Helen Frankenthaler made this painting ‘Pendulum’ by staining the canvas with diluted paint, creating these soft washes of colour. I can almost feel what it’s like to be her, bending over the canvas, pouring the paint, coaxing it this way and that. Maybe she tilted the canvas to let the colours flow, and then blotted it with a rag. Look at the way the crimson hovers at the top, bleeding into the pale pink underneath. It's like a storm cloud reflected in a puddle, or an echo of Rothko’s blocks of colour, but somehow lighter, more open. Then, the thin lines of colour, hovering in the middle of the painting. You can see Frankenthaler’s process right there on the canvas. She was a master of improvisation. Her paintings are often like maps of her mind, recording her movements, actions, and thoughts as they unfold. Painters are always looking at each other, arguing, agreeing, disagreeing, and egging each other on!