1969 1969

Mark Rothko made this deep blue painting on paper in 1969, and the density of color feels like a doorway into a dark room. The image comes into being through the movement of dark pigment on the page; the texture of the color shifting and emerging until it resolves into a dense field. I sympathize with Rothko as he made this work. It is all feeling, painted in the late 60s. The color feels like a mood. There is a gesture, a kind of quiet melancholy that resonates. What was he thinking when he made it? What was he feeling? I think that all artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, where ideas are exchanged, and creativity sparked. In painting, there is an ambiguity and uncertainty that allows for many interpretations. A single artwork can have multiple meanings!