Untitled 1962

This untitled work, made with pencil and crayon by Burgoyne Diller, features two grids or maybe they're architectural plans hovering on the page. I wonder what it was like for Diller to make this? He was probably on a mission to refine and strip down form to its barest bones. The colours are muted, with these little hits of blue and yellow that just pop. The gray pencil marks create a sense of depth and layering, like he’s building up these structures from the ground. I’m really drawn to the contrast between the precision of the lines and the softness of the crayon; there's a tension that keeps it alive. Diller was part of a generation of artists who were trying to distill painting to its essence, like Mondrian or Albers. It's as if they were all in conversation, each pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. This piece feels like a quiet but powerful statement.