Leap Frog 1952

With sweeping ink strokes and a monochrome palette, Gene Davis made "Leap Frog," likely with ink on paper, capturing a moment of spontaneous expression. Looking at these layered lines and washes, I can imagine Davis in his studio, maybe music playing, responding to the push and pull of the ink. The fluid lines create a sense of movement, like figures caught mid-leap, or maybe just the feeling of jumping, skipping... You can almost feel the artist’s hand dancing across the surface. There is a strong dark vertical mark running down the page, but it is set against these really beautiful light airy brushstrokes. It makes me wonder what he was thinking, what he was trying to capture. It reminds me of the work of Franz Kline, who had a similar dedication to line, but Davis brings his own sensibility to the act of mark-making. Ultimately, this work feels like part of an ongoing conversation between artists, a shared exploration of form, feeling, and the simple joy of putting ink to paper.