Houses In Motion 1999

Jennifer Bartlett made "Houses In Motion" with paint, one tiny stipple mark at a time, creating a playful, dreamlike landscape. I can only imagine the dedication and patience it took to build this composition dot by dot. What was Bartlett thinking, committing herself to such a repetitive process? Maybe she was finding meditation in the mark-making, a way to slow down and observe the world through a screen of color and texture. I see the influence of pointillism but something more too. The figures—are they dancing, building, or demolishing? The houses tilt and float, becoming untethered from gravity. A color palette of pinks, blues, and oranges adds a sense of whimsy, reminding me of children’s book illustrations, yet this is far more complex. The painting feels like a conversation with artists like Magritte and Guston, who also played with the absurd and the everyday. It feels like Bartlett is reminding us that painting is a process of exploration. We are left to imagine what might come next.