"Cool" Series No. 46 (Spanking Fresh) 1963

Perle Fine made "Cool" Series No. 46, also known as "Spanking Fresh," with, well, it looks like oil on canvas, and boy, is it ever spanking fresh! I just love how the color feels so considered, yet there is this totally raw application. The redness of the painting just pulls you in. You can see where Fine layered the paint, how she mixed it right there on the canvas. The blue frame around the red really makes the whole thing pop, doesn’t it? It's not perfect, you can see the hand of the artist in the slight wobble of the line. But it's that imperfection that gives the painting its life, its energy. It puts me in mind of Agnes Martin, who also played around with squares, but in a totally different mood. "Cool" is more hot than cool, right?