Untitled 1948

Mark Rothko made this untitled oil on canvas sometime in the mid-20th century. What I love is how the big shapes float, how the red and blue almost push the painting apart, but the murky colors at the top and bottom pull it all back together. I wonder what he was thinking, splashing down these brushstrokes with this confidence. See the heavy black mark at the top of the painting? It almost flattens the space, but then the red peeks out, saving the day. Painting is a balancing act between intention and accident. You can almost imagine Rothko working and reworking sections, responding to what's already there. The thin layers of paint give the surface this beautiful transparency. Painters are always talking to each other across time. And whether he knew it or not, Rothko was in conversation with artists of the past and future. The act of painting is about embracing the unknown and letting something new emerge.