Untitled (trial proof 2/4 2nd state) 1988

This trial proof by Jasper Johns feels like a peek into the artist's mind, a playful and experimental space where images collide and converse. It's all about the push and pull of marks, a dance between representation and abstraction. Look at the top half, those hazy, amorphous forms rendered in charcoal greys and blacks, creating a dreamy backdrop for the whole composition. Then, bam! Your eyes are drawn down to the lower third, where a trio of boldly colored blocks jostle each other. I can imagine Johns in the studio, juggling these elements, pushing the plate to its limits, and allowing unexpected textures to emerge. The colors, the textures, the lines—they all come together to create a visual puzzle, a conversation between different ways of seeing and making. Thinking about other image-makers, it reminds me a bit of Elizabeth Murray's prints, or maybe early Rauschenberg. What a lineage to be part of!