Untitled (Alhalkere) 1989

This painting, Untitled (Alhalkere), was made by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, and it's like looking at a field, or maybe sand, rendered with endless small dots. There's something meditative about this kind of mark-making. You can imagine the artist in the studio, repeating the same simple gesture, over and over. But there's variation in there too, little shifts in color and spacing. The dots range from pale ochre, to warm browns and near whites which give the surface an inner light and movement. The texture feels almost granular, and these tiny circles seem to float on the surface. One particular area, maybe halfway up and slightly to the left, has a cluster of darker brown dots that pull your eye in. It's like a focal point that emerges from the overall pattern. Kngwarreye’s work, in its use of repetitive mark making, reminds me of Agnes Martin. Both artists use a kind of all-over composition, filling the space with subtle variations. You could stare at either of them forever. And that's a good thing, right?