Untitled 1972

This untitled work by Dorothea Rockburne, made with seemingly simple materials, really gets me thinking about the basics of art-making. I imagine her in the studio, experimenting with washes and subtle marks on the paper’s surface. The upper section has this delicate, cloudy quality, like she’s poured water across the surface. Below, there's a definite line, and then these ghostly circles emerge in the lower half—almost as if they’re trying to break through. There’s something about the quietness of this work that resonates with me. It is like Agnes Martin’s drawings, in that it emphasizes the grid and the act of repetition. Artists are always in conversation with each other, right? Rockburne, in her own way, pushes the boundaries of what drawing can be. It's all about the process of discovery. It’s this shared language of art, echoing across generations.