Firecracker 1968

This is Gene Davis’s 'Firecracker', those evenly spaced vertical stripes in muted greens and pinks! I can almost hear the sizzle of the brush as he laid down each stripe, a rhythm of color and space. I'm imagining Gene stepping back, squinting, maybe shifting a stripe here or there, always searching for that visual pop, that bang of color. It reminds me of Agnes Martin, but with a bolder spirit. I can imagine him thinking about Barnett Newman, too. I love the slightly off-kilter feel of the palette. It feels a bit like a conversation, a push and pull between control and something almost accidental. The evenness of the painted stripes, the perfect width, set against the crazy combination of colour. Davis and other artists are constantly talking to one another across time, sparking new ideas and inspiring new ways of seeing. The kind of expression that embraces the unexpected.