Untitled c. 1940s - 1950s

Franz Kline made this untitled painting with ink and possibly gouache on paper. Look at these marks! You can almost feel him making them – wiping, blotting, dragging, and layering. It feels like the artist is thinking aloud, each stroke a new thought or feeling emerging. I can imagine Kline in his studio, surrounded by the gritty atmosphere of New York, trying to build a world of pure sensation. The black shapes feel so absolute and imposing, like stark monuments. But then there are those ghostly greys and browns seeping through, the accidental drips and splatters that soften the edges. It's as if he’s letting chance play a role, embracing the imperfect. There's a kinship here with other artists, like Robert Motherwell, who were also exploring gesture and chance. They all taught us that painting is not just about depicting something, but about the act of thinking, feeling, and being in the world. And each brushstroke invites us to join him, and all other painters, in this never-ending conversation.