Untitled 1975

This "Untitled" piece by Gene Davis, made with colored pencil on paper, feels like a little visual poem. The lines are so sparse and free, you can almost see his hand moving across the page, deciding where to go next. I love how the colors just barely touch the surface; they’re not trying to fill anything in, just sort of hinting at shapes and forms. Look at that squiggly green at the bottom – is it a foot? Is it grass? It doesn’t really matter. It's the lightness of touch that really gets me. The way the grey strokes near the edge are almost scribbled, but with a kind of purpose. Like a shadow, or maybe a thought that's just barely formed. This reminds me of some drawings by Guston, where the lines are searching, never quite settling. It shows us how art isn't about perfect answers, but about the joy of looking and thinking.