La Mesa c. 1947

Adja Yunkers made "La Mesa" with monotype in 1949. It's mostly greyscale, and it looks like it has come into being gradually, with shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with the artist, I can imagine what it might have been like to create this. What might he have been thinking when he made it? In the work, the paint is applied in thin layers, creating subtle tonal variations and atmospheric effects. Look at those tiny red dots, placed so carefully... They feel hopeful. I imagine Yunkers in conversation with the paintings of someone like Milton Avery, with that same careful application of colour, and the same feeling of being immersed in the landscape. Artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. "La Mesa" embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings over fixed or definitive readings.