Flower 1962

Robert Mallary made this artwork, Flower, using monochrome printmaking techniques—it's all about the push and pull of dark and light, with just a tiny pop of pink. You can almost feel the artist at work, pressing down, pulling away, letting the texture of the surface speak. That big blocky shape at the top—is it a head? A cloud? It's got this rough, almost brutal texture, like the artist was really wrestling with the material, and then the line, so straight and unwavering, reaching down like a lifeline. I imagine Mallary in his studio, surrounded by scraps and tools, totally absorbed in the process, letting the image emerge through trial and error. And that little pink dot—it's like a tiny spark of hope or beauty in the midst of all that darkness, like a de Kooning. It makes you think about how artists are always riffing off each other, borrowing ideas, and pushing things in new directions. It’s all one big, messy, beautiful conversation, isn't it?