Plane Figure III 1992

Robert Mangold created this painting, Plane Figure III, with a commitment to exploring basic shapes and colors. I imagine him methodically applying thin layers of paint onto the shaped canvas, building up a smooth, almost ethereal surface. The ochre hue feels warm. What was Mangold thinking, playing with the tension between the sharp geometric form and the fluid, elliptical line? Did he begin by mapping the shapes on the canvas? The elliptical line seems to both exist within the form of the triangle, and against it. It's like he's trying to reconcile the perfect and imperfect. I like to think about how artists are always in conversation with one another, riffing off ideas across decades. The process of making art is a site of inquiry, an exchange of ideas and experimentation that allows for uncertainty.