The Sound of Yellow and Blue 1965

Howard Mehring created "The Sound of Yellow and Blue", a painting that dives into the heart of color field abstraction. Born in Washington D.C., Mehring was part of a group of artists who sought to distill painting down to its purest elements, focusing on color and form. He saw color as a means to evoke emotion, to create a direct, visceral experience for the viewer. Here, the bold use of yellow and blue, framed by bands of green and red, feels like a deliberate attempt to explore the emotional resonance of color. In many ways the title feels like the visual translation of synesthesia. Mehring and his contemporaries were working in a time of significant social change in the United States. While their art might not directly address those issues, their pursuit of pure abstraction can be seen as a reaction against the representational styles. This work reflects an optimistic outlook on art's potential to tap into something primal and shared. In the end, this piece is about feeling, seeing, and how we connect with color.