Karnac III 1972

Tony DeLap made "Karnac III" with cool colors and ruled lines, like a minimalist drawing of a minimalist painting. DeLap was part of a generation of California artists who brought finish fetish and light and space to the fore. I think he might have been thinking about what happens in a painting, how it unfolds on the surface, when he made this artwork. The paint isn’t thick, but there’s a gentle and atmospheric buildup of layers. The creamy bands pull my eye up and down the painting, against the wave-like areas. They’re like optical devices, framing something and making you see it differently. These marks might seem simple, but they hold a ton of feeling. Like all art, DeLap's work doesn't come from nowhere. It's part of this endless conversation that painters have been having forever, and will continue to have. There are no definitive readings or meanings, only interpretations.