Message #1 1982

Warren Rohrer made this painting, Message #1, with oil on canvas. It has such a specific mood, right? The color is really working here. It feels like I’m staring into deep water. There is a build-up of texture that rewards a close look – a network of tiny scratches, maybe made by the end of a brush, or some other tool dragged through the paint. These minute marks create this feeling of density. They give the eye and mind something to grip onto. Notice how the color gets darker at the bottom, so you get this real feeling of immersion. Rohrer’s paintings always bring to mind the work of Agnes Martin, in the sense of someone trying to describe something that can’t quite be described. Art isn’t always about clarity; sometimes, it’s about embracing the obscure.