Untitled 1954

Karl Otto Gotz made this untitled painting using broad, sweeping gestures in black and white. I can almost see him, brush in hand, attacking the surface, pushing and pulling the paint, letting the image emerge from chaos. It feels like he’s wrestling with form, trying to capture something fleeting. I wonder if he knew what it would look like in the end? Maybe he didn’t, and that’s the thrill of it. Look at how the black paint seems to drip and pool in certain areas, creating these dark, dense masses. Then there are the streaks of white, slashing through the darkness, like lightning in a storm. This reminds me a little of Franz Kline, another painter who loved bold, black and white gestures. There’s a lineage there, a conversation happening across time and space. It’s like they’re all part of some secret club, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be. For me, it’s a reminder that painting is alive, always changing, always challenging us to see the world in new ways.