Untitled 1947

Here is a painting of stacked rectangular forms made by Mark Rothko. The surface is a harmony of warm hues, reds bleeding into browns, like a sunset or maybe something more internal, like blood. The paint handling is loose; you can see the brushstrokes, the way the colors blend and blur at the edges. It's less about depicting something and more about creating an atmosphere, an emotional space. Look at the way the red floats on top of the brown. It's like a memory, vivid but also fading, the texture and materiality is key. This all feels super personal and intuitive to me. The more I look at this painting the more I think about Agnes Martin, in the way that you can see the trace of the makers hand. Rothko embraces ambiguity here, inviting us to bring our own feelings and experiences to the work.