Pittura R 1975

Here's "Pittura R" by Pino Pinelli, and I'm just imagining Pino in his studio, probably in Italy, maybe listening to some opera or something, working away at these panels. I like the way the three raspberry pink rectangles hover above that chocolate brown bar—it’s a kind of proto-minimalism, playing with color and division. The paint looks pretty thin, almost like it's been stained into the canvas. I can see him, Pino, trying to get these just right, adjusting each panel, trying to make them even and straight, but you know there’s always going to be that little bit of wonkiness. And that’s what makes it good! This piece talks to other painters like Barnett Newman with his zips, or even Agnes Martin with her grids. We’re all talking to each other across time, you know? It’s a long conversation about how we see and feel the world, and how to get that down on a canvas. It's like Pinelli is asking, how little can I do, and still make it sing?