#3 1969

Karl Benjamin made this eye-popping painting with the simplest of means—shapes and color. Looking at this, I can feel the artist puzzling through the possibilities, shifting forms, and working with these super saturated hues of blue, red, yellow, and orange. What I love about this painting is its all-overness. The composition insists on itself, pushing to the edges of the canvas, and suggesting it could just keep going. This idea reminds me of Sol LeWitt, who also worked with geometric forms and simple color relationships. There's something so playful and optimistic about this painting; as if it's a game or puzzle. The shapes are buoyant, like they could float right off the canvas! Artists like Karl Benjamin are in constant conversation, building on what came before, experimenting and playing with different ways of seeing and expressing the world.