No. 18 1966

John McLaughlin made this painting, No. 18, with what looks like oil on canvas, and it’s so reduced, almost like a diagram. The colors are simple, black and off-white. It’s like he's trying to distill painting down to its most basic elements. Looking closely, you can see slight variations in the off-white rectangles. They're not perfectly flat, there's a little bit of texture, a little bit of variation in the paint application. It’s almost as if the painting is breathing. There is a real tension in the edges where the two colors meet. It's like a visual haiku, so simple but so resonant. McLaughlin's work reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, or even Ellsworth Kelly, in the way he uses simple forms to create these meditative spaces. It's all about how we see, how we perceive, and how art can open up new ways of experiencing the world.