Orange-Pink-Green 1971

John Hoyland made this print, called Orange-Pink-Green, using lithography, a process where the artist draws on a stone or metal plate. Here, the approach to color is so free and playful. It's almost like the colors are dancing together, finding their places on the page as they go. Looking at the work, I’m drawn to the way Hoyland handles the surface. The pink rectangle is so solid and grounded, but then you have these splashes and drips around it, like the color is trying to escape. It creates this push and pull, a tension that keeps your eye moving. I love the little details, like the way the green seems to seep into the orange background, or the tiny dots of color that add a bit of whimsy. This reminds me a bit of Helen Frankenthaler's stain paintings, where she poured thinned paint onto canvas. Both artists are interested in how color can create space and atmosphere, but Hoyland has a boldness that's all his own. Ultimately, it's a reminder that art is about exploration, about embracing the unexpected.