Untitled 2004

This painting without a title was made by Makinti Napanangka; look at these lines of color, orange and blue, side by side, pulling across the canvas. Imagine her, brush in hand, making the painting appear, stroke by stroke. I like to think about the physicality of painting; Makinti must have been in a kind of conversation with the surface, responding to the colors already laid down, maybe changing the color if it needed it, or maybe sticking to her plan. What plan? I wonder what it would be like to give myself over to these all-over bands of color. This is the feeling I get from painters like Agnes Martin, too, but they are so different. I wonder if Makinti knew the other painters from the West? It makes you think about how all art making is a conversation across time. I love that Makinti embraces ambiguity, and that she trusts that the repetition of lines can create a space for looking and contemplation.