Open No. 122 in Scarlet and Blue 1969

Robert Motherwell made this painting using scarlet and blue, and from the title, I imagine he must have been thinking about the experience of openness. That red—wow, right? It’s like being immersed in feeling, the kind that’s so big it almost doesn’t have a shape. Then you’ve got that blue-white rectangle hovering near the top, like a window or a door slightly ajar. Did he put down the red first, then carefully build the open space on top? Or did he paint around the open space, coaxing it into being with layers of red? It's as if he was asking himself 'What is the most minimal way I can suggest an opening?' I think of the work of other painters, like Rothko, who were also trying to use color and form to tap into something deep and wordless. Motherwell is in conversation with them, but he’s also doing his own thing, searching for a way to make a painting that’s not just an object but an experience.