Thira 1980

Brice Marden made this striking piece, Thira, sometime in his career, using oil on canvas. You know, with a painting like this, it's all about the surface. I’m really drawn to the way Marden builds up these matte layers. Look closely, and you can see the subtle variations in tone within each field of color, especially that muted green on the left. It’s like he’s coaxing the color out of the material, slowly, patiently. This kind of careful layering gives the painting a real sense of depth, even though it’s so flat. There is a relationship between those blues and greens, oranges and reds, a call and response that really keeps my eye moving across the canvas. I see a bit of Agnes Martin in the way Marden simplifies and distills his palette. It’s a testament to the power of reduction, and the endless possibilities that emerge when you embrace limitation.