Black Painting 1964

Here we have Ralph Hotere’s 'Black Painting', though it’s not dated, you can see how it has been carefully built up from layers of enamel paint. Imagine the artist, standing before the canvas, applying thick, glossy paint, maybe using house painting brushes. The black creates a deep void, but then Hotere pierces it with these slashes of vibrant red squares. It's not just color, it's the texture, too. You can sense the weight of the black, how it almost seems to push forward, while the red pops out. In a way, it's like he's carving out a new way of seeing, one brushstroke at a time. These forms seem to converse with the work of other painters like Malevich, whose work similarly engages with the void. It makes you consider how artists are always in dialogue.