Triangular Fugue V 1965

John Dowell made this piece, Triangular Fugue V, sometime after 1941 with what looks like ink on paper. The marks are tentative, almost like a dance across the surface. It feels like the start of something, an idea sketched out, more about the doing than the final result. I love how the red ink pops against the white background; it gives the piece a raw, immediate feel. The lines are thin, delicate, but they build up to create these dense areas of activity. Look at the grouping of shapes in the centre. They remind me of characters, each with its own little personality. Dowell's letting us glimpse his thought process, the way he's building this world piece by piece. It's a bit like Cy Twombly, isn't it? That same sense of playful exploration, where the act of making becomes the point. It's a reminder that art doesn't always need to be polished or perfect. Sometimes, the most interesting stuff happens in the messy middle.