Untitled (from Tiles) 1979

This is an untitled piece from Tiles by Brice Marden, and it looks like it might be an etching. I can see Marden working on this, maybe with some acid and a metal plate, scraping and biting away at the surface to create this grid. It's so simple, but so complex at the same time, you know? It reminds me of Agnes Martin's grids, but with more grit and texture. There’s a sort of worn quality to it, a quiet beauty in its imperfections. The way those lines wobble and break—that’s what gets me. It feels human, like a fingerprint or a handwritten note. I think he’s trying to find something essential, something that goes beyond the surface, with each mark leaving a trace of his presence and inviting us to contemplate the nature of seeing and being. It's like a conversation across time, each artist building on the ideas of those who came before.