Circles and Relations 1971

Tihamer Gyarmathy made this painting, Circles and Relations, and it’s pure process. Look at how he works the surface, a web of tiny hatch marks covering everything. It’s like he’s building the painting one tiny gesture at a time. The colors are bright, but not in your face, yellows and blues laid down with a dry brush. It’s almost pointillist, but messier, warmer. See that big yellow wedge near the top? It’s solid but scratchy, like he dragged the brush across, letting the canvas peek through. It’s both a shape and a field, a thing and an atmosphere. And the circles—they're not perfect, are they? A little wobbly, a little off. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, but looser, more playful. Both artists embrace the imperfect, the handmade. It feels more human that way, less about perfection and more about the joy of making. And that’s a relation I can get behind.