Roll Your Own (Zig-Zag) 1963

Ronald Davis made Roll Your Own (Zig-Zag) with a very controlled, almost obsessive application of paint. The colours are really specific - a warm orange, a cool green, and a stark black and white. I think this isn’t just about colours though, it’s about how shapes can play tricks on your eyes. See how the lines and squares give the painting a kind of depth, like it’s curving away from you? I think painting is an ongoing experiment where artists keep borrowing and building on each other’s ideas. I see connections to Bridget Riley's Op Art and Sol Lewitt's use of geometry. Ultimately, this piece is about seeing what happens when you push an idea to its limit, embracing the ambiguity and multiple interpretations that arise.