Yellows 1969

John Hoyland made this print, Yellows, in 1969, and what grabs me first are those unapologetic blocks of color! The process feels so immediate, so present. There's this real physicality to the print, right? You can almost feel the drag of the squeegee across the surface. Look at the way the colors meet—that strip of red between the two yellows. It's not perfect, not precise. It’s this juicy, drippy line, a record of the hand, a trace of the artist's movement. I love that! It keeps things open, honest. And how that olive green hovers above, like a moody sky. It brings a certain gravity, a weight that anchors those bright yellows. Hoyland reminds me a little of Helen Frankenthaler in his use of color, but he's definitely got his own voice. His work isn't about answers, it's about possibilities.