Monet's Garden 1980

Gene Davis made ‘Monet’s Garden’ with stripes of paint, and it’s all about how a simple idea can be so complex when you dive in. I love how the texture is almost like fabric, with the vertical lines packed together like threads. Up close, you can see each stripe has its own little wobbles and variations. It’s not about perfection but about the rhythm of applying paint. Take that teal stripe, slightly thicker than its neighbors, and how it leans a bit to the left. It’s a tiny rebellion, a little skip in the beat. It makes you realize that this isn’t just a system; it’s a feeling, and the color palette is just pure joy. Think about Agnes Martin’s grids, but where she’s whispering, Davis is singing out loud, and that's what art should do. It should ask questions, not just give answers.