Seascape: Cascade River, Lake Superior 1995

Hiroshi Sugimoto made this silver gelatin print, Seascape: Cascade River, Lake Superior, and what strikes me first is its meditative quality. The grayness kind of blankets everything, making it hard to distinguish where the water ends and the sky begins. Up close, the surface is soft, almost like a memory fading. It's so subtle, the way Sugimoto teases out these tones, it feels like he's painting with light rather than capturing a scene. There's a horizon line, but it's more of a suggestion, a quiet hum between the realms. I am reminded of Agnes Martin, someone else with an interest in quiet expression. This piece isn't about the drama of the sea but more about the feeling of it, the endlessness and the quiet. It's like Sugimoto is showing us that sometimes, the most powerful things are the ones that whisper.