Prince Albert 1978

Gene Davis made *Prince Albert* with paint on canvas. The stripes! They're not just decorative, they're a whole system. See how each one is its own kind of world? The material itself—the way the paint sits on the canvas, thin and deliberate—it's all about the surface. The colors do their thing, but it's the surface that catches your eye. Take that one thin, pale yellow stripe near the edge. It's a tiny move, but it changes everything. It’s like a little hum, a detail that wakes up the whole painting. Davis reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, but with a party dress on. He embraces the joy of color, the pure pleasure of putting one stripe next to another. It’s like he's saying, "Art doesn't have to be so serious; it can be a celebration, too."