Checker 1994

Sean Scully made this Checker painting and it's all about process. See how the squares aren't perfect? It's like he’s searching for something, not just trying to copy a checkerboard. Up close, you can really feel the physicality of it. The paint isn't trying to hide what it is. It’s solid, but not overly worked, you can see some brushstrokes, which suggest more of a relaxed quality. Look at where the blocks meet and the thin orange border showing through. I wonder if that was his way to hold it all together, literally and conceptually? It also makes me think of Sol LeWitt and his interest in the grid. Ultimately, it feels like Scully's painting is an ongoing conversation with other artists and with himself, as if each mark and each color choice is a step further into his own vision, which is what art should be, right? A big experiment with no wrong answers.