Halifax 1969

Gene Davis made *Halifax*, a stripe painting, using acrylic on canvas. There's something about the absolute regularity of stripes that gets me. It’s kind of meditative, like a musical score, and the color palette is subtle but jarring. Look at how the light bounces off the surface; it is smooth, with no evidence of brushstrokes. The paint looks almost sprayed, the flatness of the surface emphasizing the interplay of colors. Focus on the cluster of thin stripes towards the center. The way those reds and greens play off the larger blocks of pink and yellow – it creates a rhythm that's both calming and energizing. Color is an emotional force, and Davis knew how to wield it. I think Agnes Martin and her quiet grid paintings would get this. I mean, it’s painting about painting, but it's also about feeling, about how we experience the world through color and form. There's no right answer, just a conversation that keeps going.