Claustral 1961

Morris Louis made *Claustral* using acrylic on canvas, and just look at those vertical stripes cascading down the canvas like a vibrant waterfall. I can imagine Louis in his studio, experimenting with thinned-down paint, allowing gravity to take the lead, and letting the colors merge and blend organically. It's almost as if he's not just painting, but collaborating with the forces of nature. The way the colors bleed into each other, creating these subtle gradations, it’s mesmerizing. There’s a yellow stripe here that seems to glow from within, and beside it a dark brown that looks like it was stained into the canvas. I think of Helen Frankenthaler and how she poured paint onto canvas, staining it. There's a conversation happening between artists, across time, each inspiring the other to push the boundaries of what painting can be. Ultimately it's about what painting can *do* – how it can communicate feeling, intention, or meaning. It’s a reminder that art is never truly finished, but continues to evolve and transform with each new eye that beholds it.