Composition 1961

Tihamer Gyarmathy made this painting, called Composition, with what looks like quick brushstrokes of greens and blacks. This piece feels like an investigation into the process of artmaking itself. The texture is key here, right? You can almost feel the swift movement of the brush across the surface. The colors—mostly greens and blacks, with hints of yellow—create a kind of rhythmic pattern. It reminds me of a woven textile, maybe, but one that’s been disrupted or deconstructed. Look closely at those individual marks. See how each one is slightly different, with varying degrees of opacity and pressure? It's like Gyarmathy is exploring the range of possibilities within a very limited set of parameters. Thinking about artists who played with similar ideas, Agnes Martin comes to mind, but with a very different sensibility. Both artists use repetition and pattern, but while Martin's work feels serene and meditative, Gyarmathy's has a kind of restless energy. It's this tension between order and chaos that makes the piece so compelling, and ultimately makes art an ongoing conversation.