Untitled 1960

This ‘Untitled’ painting by Manoucher Yektai feels like it was coaxed into being, layer by layer, with a palette knife maybe? It’s a symphony of whites, greens, and grays—colors that feel both airy and grounded at the same time. I'm imagining Yektai, trowelling paint onto the canvas, building up a topography of textures. The brushstrokes aren’t just marks, they’re like little sculptures, each one a decision, a feeling, made solid. There’s a real physicality to it. I can almost feel the weight of the paint, the drag of the knife. It must have been such a sensory experience to create this. Look at that glob of paint in the lower left corner, it stands out. It’s like a secret, a hidden clue to understanding the whole thing. Yektai’s paintings were often inspired by still life and landscape but became increasingly abstract over time. You can see his conversation with the New York School, but also something entirely his own. It’s a reminder that we’re all talking to each other, across time and space, through the language of paint.