Untitled 1959

Gene Davis made this untitled painting with vertical stripes, and the process feels like a kind of visual music. Looking closely, the stripes aren't perfect, there's a slight wobble to them, like they're breathing. You can sense the artist's hand, the way he loaded the brush, the speed of the stroke. The blue isn't just blue; there are hints of purple and gray mixed in, while the lighter stripes seem to shift between gold and pink depending on the light. I love how the colours vibrate, creating this optical hum that makes your eyes dance. It's tempting to compare Davis to Agnes Martin, another master of the stripe, but where Martin is all about quiet contemplation, Davis has a raw, almost funky energy. Both artists demonstrate how limiting your tools can actually set you free. The magic is in the making and the looking, an invitation to get lost in the rhythm.