Untitled 1964

Philip Guston made this untitled painting with oil on canvas, and when you look at it, it is like seeing the residue of a thought. The greys are brushed on, and have a watery, thin quality, a real contrast to the heavy black square that seems to be lurking in the middle-ground. Take a look at the bottom fifth of the painting, where the pink paint has been scrubbed onto the canvas in thin strokes that almost look like crayon. There's so much vulnerability in the way the marks are made, it feels very intimate. This piece makes me think of Joan Mitchell. Both artists share a wonderful way of using a loaded brush to capture a feeling of the world, without describing it directly. It's like an echo chamber of abstract expressionist ideas.