Untitled 1969

This untitled painting was made by Mark Rothko with oil on canvas. It’s an interesting piece, all about the darkness, but in the darkness, there’s light. I notice the brushstrokes going every which way, but mostly horizontally across the canvas, layer upon layer. The color is so thick, it feels like I could run my hand across it and feel the texture, even though I know better. There’s a line, a horizon line maybe, that cuts across the bottom, like a memory. It feels heavy and weighty. Rothko reminds me a little of Ad Reinhardt, who was also into these super dark paintings. But where Reinhardt is all about the grid, Rothko is about feeling, about emotion. I guess what I’m saying is, paintings like this are like Rorschach tests. It’s not about what the painting is, but about what it makes you feel. And what it makes you feel is always changing, like the painting itself.