Join (#11) 1961

Frederick Hammersley made "Join (#11)" with paint, and what strikes me is his dedication to clean lines and flat color. It's almost like he's saying, "Let's see what we can do with just the bare minimum." The black, white, and blue really pop. You can almost feel the slightly coarse texture of the canvas coming through the paint. Look at the way the black triangle meets the blue square; it's such a crisp edge! It feels precise but also kind of playful. Like two puzzle pieces fitting together. Hammersley's got this way of making you question what you think you know about space and form. He reminds me a little of Sol LeWitt in his focus on simple geometric forms. But there's also something uniquely Hammersley about the color combinations he uses. It’s all about that balance of clarity and ambiguity, you know?