Downtown New York No. 5 c. 1925

John Marin’s ‘Downtown New York No. 5’ is a watercolor that feels like a quick sketch, capturing a fleeting impression of the city. The brushstrokes are loose and gestural, like he’s trying to catch the energy of the place rather than its exact appearance. The colors are muted, mostly grays and blues, but there are pops of pink and brown that keep it from feeling too somber. The paint is thin and transparent, letting the paper show through in places, which adds to the sense of immediacy. I love how the strokes at the bottom become these abstracted shapes that could be anything. There’s a feeling of incompleteness that’s really appealing, as if Marin is inviting us to fill in the gaps and imagine the rest of the scene for ourselves. It reminds me a little of Arthur Dove, another American modernist who was interested in capturing the feeling of a place rather than its literal appearance. Ultimately, it's a piece that embraces ambiguity, inviting us to see the city in a new and unexpected way.