Canto Xll 1964

Barnett Newman made this painting, Canto XII, with oil on canvas, and right away, you're hit with this vibrant yellow. Looking at it, you can see how the surface isn't just flat; it's got this real texture, especially in the right-hand side, like the paint was built up in layers, maybe even scraped or rubbed away in places. It’s like a history of the painting's making, all there on the surface. And that vertical line, the "zip," as Newman called it, isn't just a division; it's where the whole thing comes alive. It’s like a meeting point between these two worlds of color and texture. Newman’s zips always remind me a bit of Ad Reinhardt's black paintings, how they both use these simple structures to open up bigger questions about space, color, and what a painting can even be. It’s like they’re both asking us to slow down and really look, you know? To get lost in the details and find something new every time.