Gold Stone 1969

Lee Krasner made "Gold Stone" with paint on canvas, and for me, it's all about how she fearlessly let the paint do its thing. The physicality of the paint is everything here. It’s not about hiding the process; it’s about celebrating it. Look at the way the orange paint pools and drips, how it stains the canvas, leaving these ghost-like traces. It’s transparent in some areas, opaque in others. The surface almost looks like a map of an unknown territory. I love the splatters, they suggest this kind of energy, a freedom that I try to bring to my own work. There’s a directness that says, "This is what happened, and it's beautiful." Krasner’s earlier pieces were very different; controlled, almost tight. But here, we see her loosening up, and in that loosening, she found a new kind of strength. It reminds me a bit of Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain technique, but with a rawer edge. It's like she’s inviting us to participate in the act of painting itself. There’s no single way to read this painting and that’s what makes it great.