Untitled [Gray Shed] #17 2011

Marie Ringwald made this *Untitled [Gray Shed] #17* sometime around now on a small piece of paper. I look at this geometric abstraction and I think of the paintings of Agnes Martin, but also the stacked paintings of Sean Scully, and even Forrest Bess – though all three are very different! Ringwald seems to have built up the image with layers of grey paint, dragged across the paper, and punctuated with watery stains that leave the surface looking blotchy, a kind of rubbing out. I can imagine her moving the paint around, thinking, where will it end? Where will it stop? It makes me think about the ways we build up memories, one line at a time. Artists look, copy, and steal from each other, and this constant conversation, echo, and ricochet across time is what keeps art alive. It's about how painters learn from each other, but it's also about the joy of looking and seeing something new each time.