Three Rocks 1949

John Ferren made this painting, "Three Rocks," with what looks like oil on canvas, and it's all about how shapes and colors bump up against each other. The process feels so direct and playful, like he's having a conversation with the paint. Looking closely, the yellow background feels thick, almost like impasto in places, while the shapes – those "rocks" – are smoother, with softer edges. That blue rock has this little navy fleck at its center, giving it depth. It’s a simple mark, but it's so evocative. Then you notice how the white rock has this halo of yellow around it. It’s like the yellow ground is trying to swallow it up. Ferren was kicking around New York with artists like Rothko, who was also trying to find these new ways of thinking about painting as a process, rather than as representation. It’s all about that tension between control and letting the paint do its thing, and in the end, there’s no single right way to see it.