Balls 1990

These screen printed balls in shades of red, orange, purple, pink, green and white appear to jostle for space on the canvas. I'm thinking about the artist Rosenquist and the moment of creation, the push and pull between control and chance, the way a painting evolves through layers of decisions. I can imagine him in the studio, surrounded by canvases, lost in thought, experimenting with colors and forms. Here, there is that red stroke slicing diagonally from the top. Is this gesture pure impulse, or is it a calculated move? The texture looks smooth and there is a slight sheen to the surface. I wonder if the application of paint itself becomes a kind of performance, where the artist's body and mind are fully engaged in the act of creation. Rosenquist, like so many painters, seems to be in dialogue with his predecessors, exploring new possibilities while honoring the traditions of the medium. Artists, you know, we're all magpies, borrowing and stealing from each other, building on what came before, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be.