Interaction 1982

Jacob Kainen made this watercolour, Interaction, on paper, sometime around 1985. Look at those lines! They’re not trying to trick you into thinking they’re anything but paint on paper, but they sure do make you feel something. The way the colours bleed and blend – that’s Kainen letting the materials do their thing, embracing the unpredictable nature of watercolour. See how the pink bar crosses over the blocky columns of green and blue on the left? It’s so simple, just a swipe of colour, but it creates this whole sense of depth. The lines create a kind of loose structure. It makes me think about artists like Agnes Martin, who used simple shapes and lines to create these really contemplative, meditative spaces. Kainen's definitely got his own thing going on, but it’s all part of this bigger conversation about what art can do, how it can make us see and feel in new ways. And that, to me, is always the most exciting part.