Untitled 1971

This untitled work was made by William Dole in 1971 and just look at all of those beautiful marks! I can imagine Dole building up this image, layering different shades of black ink to create a sense of depth and texture, all while embracing accident and chance. As a painter, I think that the most exciting part of working with a limited palette is the challenge of making it sing. Dole does this beautifully, coaxing so many subtle tonal shifts out of these simple blacks. It's as though he were trying to find the underlying structure of the painting itself! The overall effect is abstract and painterly, and somehow also architectural. I want to know what he was thinking when he made it! Painters are always in conversation with one another, building on the ideas and techniques of those who came before. I feel that I am in conversation with Dole now, and I hope you do too.