Untitled 1971

Clyfford Still made this untitled painting with oil on canvas at an unknown date, and it now lives at SFMOMA. It's interesting, isn't it? How the whole thing feels like a process unfolding, almost like a dance between colors and forms. The cream colored ground is like this vast, quiet space, but then these jagged white shapes burst through, almost as if they're trying to escape or maybe they're reaching for something. Look at that concentrated burst of red down at the bottom. The paint feels thin, almost translucent, which gives it this ethereal quality, like looking at a ghost. The textures and the physicality of the medium play a big role here. It’s not just about what's depicted but how it's depicted, the emotional experience is shaped by the tension between control and spontaneity. Still's work always feels so raw and personal, and you can see the same intensity in the paintings of Mark Rothko, or even Barnett Newman. There's this sense that they're all wrestling with something profound, and they're using art as a way to figure it out. It's less about answers and more about the questions themselves.