Untitled (Abstraction) 1948

Walt Kuhlman made this untitled print, with its shadowy greys and blacks, at an unknown date. It looks like a monotype, a process that's all about the happy accidents of ink on a plate. You can see the artist feeling their way through the image; maybe starting with a landscape, then smudging and building up layers of tone and texture. I can imagine Kuhlman in his studio, maybe with the radio on, working and reworking, and the image slowly emerges through trial and error. The darks really give it a sense of depth, almost like looking into a cave, while the lighter areas flicker like light on water. The shapes are so evocative; they remind me of limbs, or maybe some kind of strange plant. It feels like a cousin to the work of painters like Guston, but with a darker, more introspective vibe. The way the artist uses the surface, scratching into it and leaving traces of the process, it's like they're inviting us to collaborate with them, to finish the painting in our own minds. Artists are always building on each other's ideas, and this piece feels like a contribution to a conversation that’s been going on for centuries.