Painting 99G022 1999

Abie Loy Kemarre made this mesmerizing painting, 99G022, with earth-toned pigments on what looks like a dark ground. Imagine her, sitting on the ground maybe, turning and turning the painting as she covers the surface with these rhythmic, semi-circular marks. It's an all-over composition, meaning there's no real focal point, just this constant repetition, like waves or scales. I think about what it's like to make something like this, the trance-like state it induces. Each mark is simple, but together they create a complex, pulsating field. It reminds me of Agnes Martin's grids, but looser, more organic. There's something so elemental about it, like the artist is connecting to something ancient. Each stroke is a tiny decision, a micro-movement that builds into a macro-vision. And that’s how paintings work, bit by bit, the artist conversing with the emerging image, until it finds its own voice. We are all in conversation, artists looking and learning from each other.