Untitled 1959

This Untitled painting by Ray Parker is just two big blobs of color on a white field, made with paint of course! What gets me about this piece is the pure physicality of the medium. Look at the top shape – you can see the strokes, the way the brush dragged the pigment, creating these layered striations. Parker isn’t trying to hide the process; he’s reveling in it. The edges of the shapes are fuzzy, not quite defined, like they’re breathing or vibrating. And the colors, a kind of earthy red-brown on top of an almost burgundy, they’re not quite harmonious. They vibrate against each other, creating this subtle tension that keeps the eye moving. It reminds me a bit of Rothko, but looser, more playful. Like a conversation between friends, riffing off each other's ideas, never quite agreeing, but always engaged.