Cold Mountain Series, Zen Study 6 1991

Brice Marden made this study for his 'Cold Mountain' series with ink on paper. It’s like he's chasing something, not just representing it. The lines swoop and gather, a process of searching more than stating. Looking closely, you can see how the ink pools in some areas, almost like a stain, while elsewhere it's a delicate, spidery thread. It's all about surface and the way the ink sits there. See how the lines aren't uniform? They vary in thickness, sometimes they break, which gives a sense of movement. They’re almost like pathways, inviting you to trace them with your eyes, to get lost in the network of connections. This kind of calligraphic gesture is reminiscent of Cy Twombly, another artist who used line to evoke something beyond the purely representational, leaning on the ambiguity that frees art from fixed meanings.