Submarine c. 1949

Robert W. Brown made "Submarine," a print, at an unknown date. It's a trip! The color palette is muted yet exciting, like old sci-fi book covers. It makes me think about process. The forms are simplified, flattened almost, but the textures give it depth. See how he uses stippling in the lower left? It’s like a whole other world in there! Brown's playfulness with shape and texture reminds me of Miro. There's a push-pull, a sense of things being both representational and totally abstract. It’s this kind of ambiguity that keeps an image alive, keeps it humming. Looking at this print, I'm reminded of how art is a conversation, a call and response across time and space. It invites us to think and feel, without demanding a single, correct answer.