Creek Square 1974

Joan Snyder made this large square canvas, full of gestural marks and a bright color palette, without a date. It’s like watching a painting come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Snyder, imagining her creating this piece. What might she have been thinking? The paint is thick and thin, shaping our experience and contributing to the emotional and intellectual resonances of the work. Look at the juicy quality of that cadmium orange square in the upper field of creamy, fleshy tones. It really sings out! The lower section of color blocks reminds me of the modular paintings of Sean Scully. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, exchanging ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Painting is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.