Untitled 1968

Howardena Pindell made this untitled work using paper and pigment. Right away, I'm drawn to how the marks accumulate; they’re almost like drops or seeds, each one its own little event. Looking closer, there’s this really interesting tension between the texture of the paper and the way the pigments sit on the surface. The ochre ground feels earthy, anchoring all these floating forms. You get the sense that Pindell is building up layers, letting each mark breathe and interact with the others. See how some of the ovals are densely packed and others are more scattered? It's like a dance, a rhythm that pulls you in. Pindell’s work reminds me a little of Agnes Martin; a similar commitment to subtle variation and repetitive gesture. But where Martin is all about quiet restraint, Pindell brings this wild energy, a sense of boundless possibility. It’s like she’s saying, “Here are the rules, now let’s see how far we can bend them."