Focus II 1980

Brice Marden made this print, Focus II, using etching, a process that’s all about controlled accidents. The image is a kind of rectangle within a rectangle, and within that a couple of vertical lines, it’s austere, it’s simple, but the making of it is all about the hand. Look closely and you can see the texture of the plate, the way the ink catches in the tiny scratches and grooves. That dense black rectangle is so serious, but the way the light shimmers on the white space within makes me feel like the image is breathing, ever so slightly. It reminds me a little bit of Agnes Martin, the way she used grids to create a sense of calm and contemplation. But while Martin’s work is all about lightness and air, Marden’s has a kind of groundedness, a sense of weight and gravity. It shows you that art is all about the push and pull of ideas, the endless conversation between artists across time and space.