Edge of Red 1983

Warren Rohrer made this painting, Edge of Red, with delicate touches, building up warm hues that shift from a rosy glow to a pale, sun-touched cream. Imagine the studio, quiet except for the scrape of the brush, the artist lost in the slow build of color. I can feel Rohrer's attention to the surface, the way he coaxes the paint to almost breathe. It’s so subtle, so much about feeling. What was he thinking about as he coaxed the paint across the canvas? The red hugs the edges, refusing to be contained. It’s like a Rothko, but quieter, more like Agnes Martin in its meditative calm. You can feel the history of painting in these gestures, the conversation between artists across time. Each stroke feels like a question, a search for something just beyond reach. That's the beauty of painting—it’s never fixed, always open to new ways of seeing and feeling.