Joseph and his Brothers 1971

Clarence Holbrook Carter made "Joseph and his Brothers" with bold blocks of color and simple shapes. There's something about the way Carter layers these forms that feels both deliberate and kind of playful. It's like he's inviting us to see the world in a new way, breaking it down to its most basic elements. What strikes me most is the texture, or lack of it. The colors are so smooth and flat, almost like printed paper, it’s a hard surface. And yet, there’s a depth created by the overlapping of these shapes. Take those oval forms, how they seem to float and intersect, creating new colors and patterns where they meet. It's a formal device, sure, but also evokes a sense of mystery, like peering through a veil. It reminds me a little of some of Milton Avery’s paintings, that same sense of reductive form and quiet contemplation. It’s not about telling a story, but about creating a space for our own imaginations to wander. And isn’t that what art is all about?