Untitled 1962

Thomas Downing made this Untitled painting with some kind of paint on canvas, though its date remains a mystery. The way Downing’s laid down these simple dots of pigment, it's like he's thinking out loud, each one a step in a visual algorithm. I love that the brushwork is so clear; you can really see the hand in the making, even though the geometry feels so precise. Look at how the blue circles give way to black as the diamond pattern emerges. And then, at the center, a tighter grid of red and blue, creating a kind of optical hum. It’s almost like a color field painting got together with a computer. I see a connection here to someone like Kenneth Noland, who was also exploring geometry and color in a really direct way. Ultimately, for me, this painting is a reminder that art is about seeing, feeling, and thinking, all at once.