Bass Rocks 1941

Stuart Davis made "Bass Rocks" in 1939, and it feels like a blueprint for a party! Look at how Davis uses these flat, almost sweet colors—pinks and minty greens—slapped down like someone’s idea of a good time. It's as if he’s saying, "Let's throw some shapes at this landscape and see what sticks." There’s a real sense of play in how he overlaps these colors with bold, graphic lines. The lines feel like he’s mapping out an idea more than describing a place. They crisscross and double back, almost like a train of thought. Focus on the lower right, where there is a tan rectangle, within which Davis has placed three short green lines. It’s a seemingly simple mark, yet it encapsulates Davis’s genius for distillation and abstraction. Davis reminds me a bit of Joan Miró, but with a New York swagger. Like Miró, he takes the world and turns it into a personal set of symbols. It feels both chaotic and meticulously planned, inviting you to find your own way through its organized frenzy.