Untitled Composition 1955

This “Untitled Composition” by Martha Boto is a painting that seems to be about the bare minimum. Boto is mostly known for her kinetic sculpture, so it makes me wonder if this painting is a kind of plan for movement, like a musical score maybe? The grey is soft and chalky, and then these very thin lines are drawn over it. I love the way these lines feel, sort of tentative, but also precise. Look at the long brown line, how it wavers ever so slightly! And those tiny white vertical lines at the bottom right. They don't quite meet, and feel more like the idea of a line. I can’t help but see Agnes Martin in this piece, especially in the focus on quiet, subtle mark-making. Boto and Martin are both artists whose works embrace the idea that less can be more, that a painting can be a space for contemplation rather than a place of declaration.