Partition 1962

Morris Louis made this "Partition" painting, sometime before 1962, with acrylic on canvas. Look at how he lets the acrylic stain the canvas, each colour seeping into the next, like layers of sediment. There's a definite physicality to this work; you can imagine Louis guiding the paint, tilting the canvas, letting gravity do its thing. The colours themselves are like emotional states: the somber grey and deep burgundy in the top half, the earthier, vibrant hues in the bottom. The black in each evokes a sense of conclusion or containment. That sliver of raw canvas between the two sets of bands, it's like a breath. I'm reminded of Barnett Newman's zips, how a simple vertical line can activate a whole field of colour. Louis does this horizontally. There's so much openness in these subtle variations. Art is a conversation and embrace of ambiguity.