Untitled c. 1943

Arthur Dove made this gouache on paper, and it's a total gem. The way he's handled the paint is so direct, so intuitive—you can feel the process. It's a landscape, maybe, or an interior, but really it's all about the materiality of the thing. The colors are laid down in these flat, opaque shapes, but they vibrate against each other, creating a kind of visual hum. There's a dark reddish-brown mass at the center, but it's got this little, lighter rectangle painted within. It’s not quite symmetrical, not quite even, and that awkwardness makes it so alive. You can practically feel Dove’s hand moving across the surface. Dove always reminds me of Marsden Hartley, another early American modernist who wasn't afraid to get down and dirty with paint. They both understood that art isn't about perfect representation; it's about embracing the messy, imperfect beauty of the world.