Tremolo 1962

Agnes Martin made "Tremolo" at an unknown date, with ink on paper. Imagine her making this, the quiet repetition, the focused energy required to make each line. You see, it’s almost a dare to herself to keep going! There is a quality to the surface, like parchment, which gives the grid a grounded and fragile quality. The imperfect grid of faint lines hums with subtle variations. The vertical lines waver slightly, creating a sense of movement. Horizontal lines, drawn so closely together, build up into bands of tone. It reminds me of a quiet and deliberate approach, almost meditative, like she is trying to visualize the inner structures of the universe. It seems like a distillation, and the result is something delicate, almost like a whisper. I love the subtle tension between the hand-drawn and the mechanical. We can learn from Martin’s willingness to embrace simplicity and imperfection as a path to expression. Artists are always in dialogue!