Dhatri II 1971

Norman Bluhm made Dhatri II with big, bold gestures, in a palette of pink, white, black and brown. I can imagine the act of painting this; the artist stepping back, squinting, and then lunging forward, loaded brush in hand. These marks didn't just happen; they've been coaxed and wrestled into being. I sympathize with Bluhm, wondering what it might have been like to stand in front of this canvas, trying to get all these elements to speak to each other. The textures vary: thin washes of lavender, thick strokes of white, and those drips of pink—each mark made, unmade, and remade. That looping gesture in pink really grabs me, it's like a thought that's been circled, emphasized, but not quite resolved. And that’s painting—a conversation across time and space, where one artist answers another, and we all keep learning from each other. It embraces uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings.