Dalet Kaf 1959

Morris Louis made "Dalet Kaf" using acrylic on canvas, though when you look at it, it feels like you could almost reach out and touch running water. The way Louis stained the canvas is so interesting to me, it becomes this meditation on process and material; he's really letting the paint soak in and do its thing. Look at the upper band of blues, purples and greens, you can almost feel the way the colors blend into each other, like watercolors bleeding on wet paper. Now, zoom in on the lower part of the canvas, see how the colors pool and gather? It’s almost like he’s capturing a moment in time, a fleeting glimpse of something beautiful and ephemeral. This reminds me a little of Helen Frankenthaler, another color field painter, who was similarly interested in exploring the possibilities of pure color. But where Frankenthaler’s work is often airy and light, Louis’s paintings have a kind of gravitas, a weightiness that feels both powerful and profound. Ultimately, it’s all about embracing ambiguity and finding beauty in the unexpected.