Number 43 (Abstract Painting, Yellow) 1947

Ad Reinhardt made this, Number 43 (Abstract Painting, Yellow) with oil on canvas, sometime in the mid twentieth century. There’s a real sense of building here; the layers almost like sediment or strata. The yellows and greens make me think of a jungle scene, but it’s the way the painting is worked, its mark making, that gives me pause. I’m intrigued by the balance he strikes between obscuring and revealing. The paint is applied in thin layers, allowing colors to peek through. It's like he's inviting you to play detective, tracing the evolution of the piece, seeing the way he reworked and re-imagined certain areas. I’m reminded of Joan Mitchell, someone who also treated painting like a form of thinking in action. Both invite us into a world of ambiguity. They show us that art isn't about answers but about the ongoing process of questioning and seeing.