Africa 9 1970

This is ‘Africa 9’ by Robert Motherwell and is made of black ink on off-white paper. Looking at the solid forms against the flat background, I can imagine the quick, intuitive movements that brought this image into being. I can imagine how the artist might have felt as he splashed and blotted out the paper. Maybe he was trying to find a balance between control and chance. This feels like one giant shape is almost dancing on top of another; an amorphous blob with legs. The black ink is so absolute, so opaque. He’s doing his own thing, but he’s also tipping his hat to Miró and Matisse, all those modernists who loved the power of simple form. I imagine Motherwell, like all artists, was in conversation with those who came before him. Each mark, each gesture, is a little bit of that conversation made visible. Painting is like that, you know? It’s not about answers, it’s about keeping the questions alive.