Untitled 1964

This is a painting by Blinky Palermo, and what I find so interesting is its commitment to the bare essentials. It's like he's asking, "How little can I do and still call this art?" Look at the surface: two rectangles stacked on top of each other, a stripe of yellow framing the top and bottom. The gray isn't flat; you can see the brushstrokes. There's a texture there that makes it feel handmade, almost intimate. Then you notice the yellow isn't perfect either. It wavers, it has its own kind of energy. For me, it's the imperfection that makes the painting so engaging. It's as if Palermo is winking, letting you in on a secret: art doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful. Barnett Newman might be a reference, but Palermo is more raw, more about the process itself.