Untitled 1945

This untitled painting was made by Barnett Newman, though we don't know exactly when, using ink on paper. Imagine Newman's hand moving across the page, almost like a calligrapher, making these bold, dark marks. I'm really feeling the pushing and pulling of the ink, the contrast of dark and light. It's like a dance, and I'm watching to see what will happen next. The ink looks almost watery in places. Thinking about process, you can almost see Newman working out his ideas, changing his mind. It's not neat or precise. Instead, he embraces the mess, the uncertainty. What could he have been thinking about? Maybe he was thinking about nature, or maybe about the inside of his mind. This feels linked to other abstract expressionists. The way they use gesture and mark-making feels very similar. I bet he knew them, and saw their work. It's like they were all talking to each other, even though they were using paint instead of words. Painting is like that. It is an ongoing conversation.