Micro-Painting 1968

This Micro-Painting by Gene Davis is made of thick impasto of yellow and pink stripes. I'm thinking about the surface of this work, how the paint has been built up in layers, creating this really tactile, almost cake-like surface. I can imagine Davis in his studio, experimenting with different consistencies of paint, maybe adding thickeners or mediums to get that kind of texture. I wonder what he was thinking about as he laid down those strokes, whether he was consciously trying to create that sense of depth and physicality. There's this gorgeous band of pink that cuts through the whole piece. It feels almost like a rebellious gesture, a break in the controlled composition. It makes me think of other painters who were pushing the boundaries of color and form, like Kenneth Noland. It’s like they're all in conversation, riffing off each other's ideas, and challenging each other to see things in new ways.