Africa 6 1970

In Robert Motherwell’s painting, a confident black figure sits powerfully on a pale ground, sending a vertical exclamation mark of splashed ink into the heavens. You can almost see him, can't you? Motherwell, I mean. Shirt sleeves rolled up, cigarette dangling, brush loaded, making that first, brave, gutsy mark! It's so decisive. The dark ink, laid down with a single gesture of wrist and arm. You know, that gesture has a real kinship with Franz Kline, or even a calligraphic stroke. He’s really talking to the Abstract Expressionists, that whole gang. Like them, it's as much about feeling as seeing, so, in a way, you could say he's not painting something; he's painting a feeling, maybe even painting himself. Painting is an echo chamber, with artists conversing with each other across generations. This bold work reminds us that painting is an act of courage, an ongoing conversation.