Untitled (T1962-L7) 1962

Hans Hartung made this untitled painting in 1962 with oil and pastel on canvas, and I think you can really see the hand in it. Hartung embraced process; for him, painting was about the act, the mark, the gesture. The painting is a field of blues, from a pale, watery hue to something deeper, almost indigo. Then, these scratches and lines dance across the surface, some dark and assertive, others delicate and wispy. Notice that single white line slicing diagonally through the center – it’s like a bolt of energy, a pure, unadulterated mark. Hartung’s marks are raw and immediate and it reminds us of the physical engagement of painting, of the artist wrestling with the canvas. I see a kinship between Hartung’s approach and Cy Twombly's scribbled, poetic surfaces. Both artists remind us that art is not just about representation, it’s about feeling, about touch, about the messy, beautiful act of creation.