Untitled 2002

Doreen Reid Nakamarra made this untitled painting with what looks like acrylic on canvas. Look at how the artist repeats these hand-painted lines. It's a slow accumulation of marks, kind of like knitting or weaving. It reminds me that the making of art is a long process, a kind of meditation. I love the materiality of the paint, the slight variations in the width and texture of the lines, and how the ochre color almost vibrates against the dark ground. There's something so raw and elemental about it. Check out the top of the painting, how the lines follow a meandering path, punctuated by small dots. The way the artist carefully traces and retraces these lines, you can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the canvas. Nakamarra's paintings are often compared to the work of Agnes Martin, another artist who used repetition and simple forms to create meditative, almost spiritual, images. For both artists the beauty lies in the imperfection, in the subtle variations that emerge from the act of making.