Laboratory Beach 1935

Edwin Dickinson made this beachscape, Laboratory Beach, sometime in the mid twentieth century. Look at the muted tones, almost bleached out, like the memory of a summer that's already fading. It's funny, the way some artists seem to be painting an idea of a thing, rather than the thing itself. I find that quite interesting, especially because it makes me think about what painting can be beyond being just a depiction. Here, the brushstrokes are so loose and free, it’s almost as if Dickinson is trying to capture the feeling of being at the beach, rather than the actual sight of it. I think of artists like Morandi, or even Agnes Martin, who use a similar kind of reduction to get at something essential. It's like they're whispering secrets about color and light, inviting us to lean in and listen closely. And isn’t that what art is all about anyway?