Additive System of Horizontals and Verticals in a Square 1970

This is Jan Kubicek’s "Additive System of Horizontals and Verticals in a Square," an image made using printmaking techniques. It’s all about the grid, right? And that soft, almost hazy grey is really doing something. You can tell that this is an artwork that’s about the process of making and seeing. The surface is so smooth, so even, which is interesting, especially when you think about the title. What does it mean to add horizontals and verticals? The lines, are they drawn on, or are they just where the colours meet? I love the ambiguity here. It makes me think of Agnes Martin, but maybe with a bit more of an edge, or Sol Lewitt, but without the instructions being so strict. It’s like Kubicek is saying, "Here’s a system, but you get to decide how to read it." And isn’t that what art’s all about?