Tapestry 1962

Ronald Davis made this unnamed painting that they call 'Tapestry' with paint, and look at the materiality of it. You can almost smell the oil. The surface is built up with small marks, like weaving or embroidery, which you only really see when you get up close. There are some great diagonals in this thing, creating movement. Notice the contrast of the warm earthy tones, against these areas of really rich saturated ultramarine? And the whites, are they highlights or ruptures? I'm reminded of Joan Mitchell, the way she lets you see her working. These artists aren’t trying to trick you into thinking that the painting is something else. It's pigment, it's gesture, it's a process.