Untitled 1964

Ray Parker made this untitled painting with big, bold brushstrokes of red and blue. It's like watching a dance unfold, where each colour takes a turn, leading and responding to the other. I imagine Ray in his studio, surrounded by tubes of paint, stepping back, squinting, maybe even humming to himself, deciding where the next blob of colour should go. Look at the texture, the slightly uneven edges of those shapes. It gives the painting a kind of raw, immediate feeling. It’s like the paint was applied quickly, but thoughtfully, each gesture carefully considered, yet also spontaneous. The red feels warm, inviting, while the blue is cooler, more reserved. They create a tension, a conversation. Parker reminds me of other painters who embrace simplicity, like Milton Avery, but with a more pared down vocabulary. Ultimately, this painting is about feeling, about colour, about the pure joy of applying paint to canvas, inviting us to slow down and really see. And maybe make up our own stories about what those shapes mean to us.