Elements V 1984

Brice Marden made "Elements V," a painting with, well, elements. Three vertical blocks of color sit beneath a dark, almost brooding rectangle. What's cool here is how Marden builds up the surface. The paint isn't just slapped on; it's coaxed, layered, and maybe even pushed around a little. You get a sense of the hand, the slow build of color. The surface has this waxy feel, almost like encaustic, which gives the colors a real depth. Look at that blue—it’s not just blue, it's a universe of blues all rubbing up against each other. Marden makes me think of Agnes Martin. It’s about reducing painting to its bare bones but finding this crazy richness within it. There’s no story here, just sensation, just color. The ambiguity is the point. It’s about how the painting makes you feel, not what it tells you to think.