1957-D No. 1 1957

Clyfford Still made this in 1957, and I think it's fair to say he was going for something monumental, even a bit gothic. Can you imagine the physicality of making something like this? He’s wrestling with this huge canvas, layering dark and yellow pigments like he’s carving into the surface. It’s subtractive as much as additive. That yellow drips and cuts into the black, giving it a ragged, torn feeling. The texture isn't smooth but has all these vertical striations, like looking at tree bark. I see Still in conversation with other painters like Rothko and Newman, but he’s pushing it further, into something rawer and more confrontational. I can feel his struggle. And, you know, that struggle is what makes it so alive. It’s like he’s inviting us to participate in the drama of its creation. What do you see? What do you feel?