Summer 1953

Philip Guston made this drawing, Summer, using ink on paper. Look at how the black ink sits on the paper. It’s not exactly floating, but the color isn’t totally absorbed either, and this gives the image a really interesting visual tension. The marks have such weight. They seem like shorthand, or a kind of visual language Guston is working out right in front of us. It's like he's using the ink to think. See how some lines are thick, bearing down on the page, while others are feathery and light? The way he varies the pressure creates a rhythm. Guston always reminds me of de Kooning, another painter who wasn't afraid to let the mess show. Both of them teach us that art isn't about perfection, it's about the messy, beautiful, and never-ending process of trying to figure things out.