Work-K-61 1961

Matsutani made this painting, Work-K-61, sometime in his career with paint and who knows what else, and it's got a lot going on! The color palette here is mostly black, white, and gray, but the gestural marks are all over the place. I can imagine Matsutani working on this, maybe going back and forth between different ideas, adding layers, scraping them away. The surface of the painting must be built up with all these different textures and marks. The white lines are so interesting; they remind me of handwriting or doodles. They look like he’s communicating some kind of message, but it’s up to us to figure out what it might be. I feel like I’ve seen marks like these in other artists’ work, but I can’t quite put my finger on who. Artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and riffing on each other’s ideas. Painting is all about figuring things out as you go, embracing the unexpected, and letting the work take you where it wants to go.