Eve 1995

Helen Frankenthaler made this painting, Eve, by staining the canvas with fluid colors and shapes. Frankenthaler lets her colours flow, like watery thoughts onto the canvas. You get the feeling that making art is like a dance, or a dialogue with the materials themselves. See how the paint soaks right into the canvas? It's thin, almost like watercolor, and the colors mix and mingle in unpredictable ways. Look at that orange shape near the bottom – it's like a burst of sunlight, all fire and energy. Frankenthaler coaxes the paint into these amazing shapes, but there’s still an element of chance involved, a willingness to let things happen. That bright red form draws your eye into the painting and then you notice the green, dripping tendrils, it's a botanical party! Frankenthaler’s work has echoes of Joan Miro. Both artists invite us to play, to wonder, and to find our own stories within their abstract worlds. There's no one right answer, just an invitation to get lost in the beauty of color and form.