"Cool" Series No. 1 (Red over White) 1963

Perle Fine made "Cool" Series No. 1 (Red over White) sometime during her career, probably with oil or acrylic on canvas. Looking at the brushwork, there's a real sense of the hand and the way the red hovers over, but never quite merges with, the white ground. It's so process-oriented. The red, it’s not just red, you know? It's got that warmth, but also a boldness. And the texture, the way you can almost see the weave of the canvas underneath, it’s like she’s letting the painting breathe. There’s one spot, up in the top left corner, where the red seems to bleed a tiny bit into the white – a total accident, but it’s so beautiful, so human. It makes the whole thing feel alive, like it's constantly shifting, even though it's just sitting there. It reminds me a little of Agnes Martin's grids, that quietness and the insistence of feeling, but with a bit more attitude. It's a great reminder that art is always a conversation, bouncing back and forth between ideas and gestures, never really settling down.