"Cool" Series No. 7 (Square Shooter) 1963

Perle Fine, sometime in the mid-century, painted this "Cool" series number 7, also known as "Square Shooter." Look at those blocks of red and blue. I can see the brushstrokes, and I imagine Perle Fine, standing in front of her canvas, thinking about… Rothko? Albers? Mondrian? It's like she's talking to them, but in her own language. I love the way she lays down the paint, thin, almost like watercolor. But those colors are solid, confident. It is not just about pure abstraction, it is about a kind of balance and harmony, where the shapes and colors create a kind of visual music. She’s thinking about color, form, and space and how these elements interact to create a dynamic composition. It's a conversation, a visual dialogue between artists across time.