Untitled (May 20) 1950

Myron Stout made this untitled painting out of oil, at some point in his life. The way he lays down these rectangular strokes, it reminds me of bricklaying – each dab building up a wall of colour. The surface has this incredible, soft texture. Stout uses colour to create space and depth, pushing and pulling our eye across the surface. Look at how the blues sit next to the pinks; they seem to vibrate and hum! Each little brushstroke feels so deliberate. He's really thinking about how each mark relates to the whole, both formally and emotionally. It’s almost meditative, like each shape is a little world, but also part of a larger universe. Stout’s work has a quiet intensity, similar to Agnes Martin's. It's about restraint and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about asking the right questions, and leaving room for the viewer to find their own way in.