Untitled 1993

Sean Scully made this ‘Untitled’ watercolor in 1993, and I can imagine him making it, layering those horizontal blocks of ochre and black, wet on wet, letting the colors bleed just a bit. The vertical stripes of red and a sort of grayish-taupe create this push-pull effect, and I wonder if Scully was thinking about the way colors vibrate against each other. It feels like he’s after this certain kind of visual hum, a low, resonant chord. I love how simple and raw it feels. There is a subtle rhythm there. I think of Agnes Martin when I look at this work, particularly in the quietness and the search for the sublime through simple forms. I think of Philip Guston, too, in the way the color is so dense and earthy. It’s like the ghosts of other painters are hanging out in Scully’s studio, offering up ideas and inspiration. Ultimately, painting is just a big conversation across time, with each artist adding their own little bit to the story.