Untitled 2001

Makinti Napanangka made this painting with acrylic paint. I imagine her building up these lines and dots, layer upon layer, color by color. I love how the repetitive marks create patterns that could almost be read as landscapes. I can imagine Makinti, brush in hand, patiently building the image with these orange and cream lines. Were these shapes emerging from the ground up? Or were they hovering in the air, waiting to drop into place? These marks—they’re like conversations. One dot speaks to another, one line echoes the curve of the next. And in between the marks, there's this space, breathing room for our eyes to wander and our minds to dream. I see echoes of other artists in this painting. Agnes Martin’s grids and the way she turned repetition into something transcendent. Or Hilma af Klint’s spiritual investigations through abstract forms. Art is just one long conversation.