Nature Abhors a Vacuum 1973

Helen Frankenthaler made this painting, "Nature Abhors a Vacuum," with acrylic on canvas. And right away, it’s obvious this is a process, a pouring and soaking of thinned paint. The surface has a really interesting flatness, but there's also a sense of depth created by the layering of colors. Those earthy browns and oranges, and then that juicy green up top, feel like looking down into a strange landscape. There's a dark, almost plum-colored shape near the bottom—it’s like a shadow, giving weight to the lighter colors around it. It's funny, "Nature Abhors a Vacuum" is such a bold title for something so airy. Frankenthaler reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell in the way she lets color do all the work. Both of them show that painting is just letting things happen and trying to catch it on the way down.