O41 - 69 1969

Fernando Lanhas made this painting, O41 - 69, probably in 1969, with some kind of paint on canvas, maybe acrylic. It's a field of hazy blue, and then these arcs and lines just hover. I imagine Lanhas in his studio, maybe in Portugal, just playing with forms. The off-white feels like a breath—a pale breath on a frosty window. Painters often use these very simple gestures— a line, a curve—to create a whole feeling. Here, the ghostly forms push and pull, like some kind of unfinished alphabet. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s quiet geometry, but with a softer touch. You can see the hand in it. In the end, every painting is a note in a conversation. The best works leave room for us, the viewers, to talk back.