White Line #2 1968

Adolph Gottlieb made *White Line #2* with paint on canvas, and looking at it, I can just imagine him in the studio. I see a series of colorful orbs hovering near the top, like buoys bobbing in the ocean. They're solid and opaque in contrast to the misty, smeared shapes at the bottom. I wonder if Gottlieb was thinking about balance, not just visually but emotionally? The white line itself is not as important as the gray smudges around it. It’s all so intuitive, not calculated. Maybe he started with the top part, those buoyant shapes, and then the painting demanded more, a kind of grounding. You know, like when you're painting and the painting starts talking back to you? I can relate to that. Gottlieb’s work reminds us that painting isn't just about making an image. It's a conversation, a way of thinking through feeling, and feeling through thought.