Untitled 1968

Craig Kauffman made this untitled artwork. Isn’t it something? That tangerine dream seems so simple, but look closer. Kauffman wasn't just slinging paint; he was playing with perception, teasing out light and space from a solid form. You can see the ghost of a rectangle within a rectangle. Imagine Kauffman in his studio, wrestling with that glossy surface, pushing the boundaries of what a painting could be. The color vibrates—it’s so LA, so sun-drenched and synthetic. And the surface, so smooth, almost untouchable. This piece feels like a conversation with the California Light and Space movement, a dialogue with artists like Larry Bell and Robert Irwin, who were also obsessed with dematerializing the object, making art that’s more about experience than representation. Kauffman takes it a step further, though, infusing this sleek, futuristic form with a kind of sensual, almost psychedelic energy. Art's like that, always evolving, always riffing on what came before. It’s one big, beautiful, messy conversation, and we’re all invited to join in.