Star (for Patti Smith) 1974

Brice Marden made this, Star (for Patti Smith), which appears to be three vertical stripes of paint. The two outer bands are a deep, dark navy, and the central stripe is a gray, but it shifts with a silvery tone, like metal. Marden is so good at pushing against the pureness of color. What I see here is a distillation. The surface quality is almost totally flat, no sign of brushstrokes, no texture – just a smooth plane of color. The edges are hard, but not quite perfect, which is a bit of a relief. I'm glad it's imperfect. For me, this piece references Barnett Newman who also used these vertical ‘zips’ of color. With Newman, the zips are these grand, almost spiritual gestures. Here, Marden’s stripes have the same simplicity, but are also more human, more humble, and that's so Patti Smith!