For Helen and Nicole 1978

Ronnie Landfield made this painting, For Helen and Nicole, with what looks like watercolor or maybe very thinned-down acrylic – there’s a real sense of the paint being allowed to flow and find its own way. The juicy quality of the paint, the way it stains the canvas, it's all about process. Look at how the colors bleed into each other, especially in that middle band, creating these soft, cloud-like forms. It feels light, almost ethereal, but then that solid orange bar anchors the whole thing. It’s a grounding force, a physical presence against the dreaminess above. This kind of color-field abstraction makes me think of Helen Frankenthaler, another painter who wasn’t afraid to let the paint do its thing. It’s like they’re both having a conversation about color, about the possibilities of paint, across time and space. And isn’t that what art is all about? A never-ending dialogue, a constant exploration of what paint can do, and what it can make us feel.