Untitled 4 1993

Warren Rohrer made this diptych painting called *Untitled 4* with oil on canvas. I imagine Rohrer layering thin washes of white and grey, allowing the colors to blend softly. The painting seems to breathe, a pale atmosphere. There is an otherworldly sense of light, and an air of quiet mystery. And then, there are these little red marks. They almost look like notations, or corrections, like little hiccups in the visual field. It’s a subtle but important intervention, a reminder that Rohrer is feeling his way through the painting, engaging in a process of trial and error. For me, this piece sits in dialogue with Agnes Martin’s grids and Brice Marden’s muted color fields. Rohrer, like these other artists, is pushing the boundaries of abstraction, and asking us to slow down and really look. What does it mean to see? What does it mean to feel? These artists are always teaching me something. They are always in conversation with each other, and with us.