Series Painting 5 1966

Ronnie Landfield made this painting using what looks like dark brown, black and maybe even purple paint. Can you imagine him, brush in hand, layering and layering, maybe even scraping back, until he found the right depth? I can really feel the artist searching for something. It’s like looking into a shadow, isn't it? There's this push and pull that invites you in. What mark do I make? Where? How much pressure do I apply? It's like a dance, isn't it? There’s a real conversation going on, not just on the canvas, but across time too. This feels like a painting that's thinking about Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, but doing its own thing. It is a reminder that every painting is a new thought in an ongoing dialogue, and even though it is really simple, it feels super profound.