Untitled 1972

Moshe Kupferman made this "Untitled" work with pencil, ink, and graphite on paper. Just by looking, you can see the physical, repetitive process he must have gone through. The surface is covered in these regimented grey stripes, like he was trying to create a textile. But then, Kupferman interferes. You can see subtle marks, like a ghost drawing, which break the surface. It’s almost as if he's trying to disrupt the regularity of the stripes with these faint gestures. I wonder what that’s about? Maybe it’s a metaphor for memory, or just a quiet rebellion against the grid. Agnes Martin also worked with grids, but Kupferman is a different animal altogether. Where she's all about meditative calm, he seems to be hinting at something hidden, something unresolved. Art’s great because it leaves space for these unknowns.