Seascape: Sea of Japan 1997

Hiroshi Sugimoto's 'Seascape: Sea of Japan' is a photograph, though it flirts with painting through its tonal range. The horizon line hovers, almost disappears – a negotiation between grey sea and greyer sky. It's about as minimal as you can get, but it’s also sumptuous, a bit melancholy. The surface texture is key here, like looking at a Rothko, the image asks us to notice the subtle shifts in tone, in the layers of atmosphere. It’s not just a record of the sea, but a meditation on perception itself. Think of the way a painter like Gerhard Richter uses blurring to create a sense of distance and memory, Sugimoto uses photography to do the same. He shows us that even in the most seemingly straightforward representation, there's always room for abstraction, for feeling, for ambiguity. It reminds you that art is an ongoing conversation.