Sequence 1960

This is Sequence, a painting of considerable size, by Howard Mehring. He’s working with many small marks, a kind of all-over composition. For me, that speaks to the way we approach art making: it's a process, a sequence of events, a series of decisions. Looking closely, there’s a materiality that gets lost if you just see the image online. The surface is built up, a layering of color, creating texture. These aren’t flat, uniform colors, but rich and varied. I see flecks of orange, blue, and brown, like a tweed jacket but way bigger. The paint is not thin and watery, but physical, each dab a testament to a moment of touch. The way these colors interact, it reminds me of the pointillist paintings of Seurat. This overall approach, the dense, even texture, is similar to other works Mehring made. It embraces a kind of visual ambiguity, inviting viewers to find their own sequence.