Washington D.C. #1 1971

Edward Corbett made "Washington D.C. #1" with paint on canvas, and looking at it, I get the sense that the piece came into being slowly, through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Corbett, trying to imagine him making this painting! What was he thinking? I'm drawn to the way the paint seems thin, almost like a stain, allowing the surface of the canvas to peek through. There's a beautiful vertical band of grey-purple on the left, and a really satisfying, clean line of dark green that pulls the eye down on the right-hand side. I wonder if Corbett was aware of Barnett Newman's 'zip' paintings from the 1950s when he made this. For me, artists are always in conversation, exchanging ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity! Corbett's work embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.