Untitled [Abstract] 1973

Willem de Looper made this untitled painting on paper, and the approach to mark making and the color palette suggests an understanding of artmaking as a process. There's something about the surface of this painting that gets me. The texture isn't screaming for attention, but it's there, a quiet hum beneath the colors. The paint seems thin, almost like a watercolor, but with a density that gives it weight. I can almost see the ghost of each brushstroke, the history of its making right there on the surface, not concealed, but celebrated. Take the upper right corner for instance, where that band of blue meets the gold. The way the colors bleed into each other, it feels like a conversation, a push and pull between intention and accident. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s quieter moments, that same dedication to the subtle, almost meditative process of layering and building a world on canvas. Art is an ongoing conversation. It's not about having the last word, but about keeping the dialogue open, embracing the questions, and allowing for endless interpretations.