Black and White Form 1962

Doug Ohlson made this black and white painting, aptly named Black and White Form, with a clear love for process. It’s so satisfying seeing those shapes bumping into each other, making new forms, and using just black and white. The way the paint’s laid down is really interesting, too. You can see the marks from the brush, each stroke carefully placed but still feeling loose and immediate. Look at how the black paint is thick in some spots and thinner in others, giving it a real sense of texture and depth. It’s not trying to hide its own making! This piece reminds me of Franz Kline’s work, where simple gestures become monumental and expressive. It’s like Ohlson’s saying, “Hey, let’s just play with shapes and see what happens,” and in that play, we find something surprisingly powerful. Isn’t it funny how a painting can embrace ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed or definitive meanings?