The Clown 1959

Kenneth Noland made this circular painting – The Clown – using acrylic on canvas. I look at it and imagine the feel of the brush in my hand. See the black arc at the top – how it bleeds out like ink? It makes me think of Helen Frankenthaler, who poured diluted paint onto the canvas, letting the colours stain the fabric. I wonder what Noland was thinking as he made this. He’s playing with geometric shapes. A blue semi-circle, a yellow semi-circle and dots of red and yellow. It’s as if he's saying painting doesn’t always have to be so serious; it can be about having fun with colour and form. It reminds me of the work of Paul Klee, who was also interested in the childlike and the whimsical. It's like all these artists are in conversation with one another across time and space, and the conversation is painting. A way of embodying expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.