Traveller 1984

Sean Scully made "Traveller" in 1984, using watercolor on paper, and you can really see the process in the finished piece. There’s something about the way he’s built up these soft blocks of color, it’s so simple but it also lets the light through. The materiality of the watercolor lends itself to this incredible texture. You can see how the colors bleed into each other ever so slightly, especially in the right-hand segment, where a gorgeous, chalky rose sits next to an ultramarine blue. It's as though you can see the brushstrokes moving around on the page. The way the colors interact like that reminds me of Agnes Martin's quiet, meditative grids, but with more oomph. "Traveller" isn't just about making a statement; it’s about creating space, hinting at the possibilities within and between things, and it’s really beautiful.