Dark Forest 1975

Milton Resnick made this painting, titled ‘Dark Forest’, by layering and building up the surface with paint. It’s a real process piece. Looking at the surface, I see a clotted, almost moss-like texture. The paint is dense, opaque. It's like he's wrestling with the stuff, coaxing these tiny peaks and valleys into being. There are no gestural sweeps or brushstrokes in the traditional sense, more like dabs and jabs. The color is so dark, it’s a deep, almost impenetrable green-black, flecked with moments of lighter tones. Think of Resnick's painting as a conversation with someone like Yves Klein, who aimed for an all-encompassing, immersive experience through color. But where Klein sought purity, Resnick embraces the messy physicality of paint. It’s like he's saying, "Yeah, color can be transcendent, but it's also just stuff, you know?" He challenges us to slow down, to feel our way through the darkness, and maybe, just maybe, find something beautiful lurking beneath the surface.