#18 1953

Hans Hartung made #18 with something like ink on paper, and looking at it, it feels like the artmaking process was really immediate. The marks he made, those lines, they aren’t hesitant or overworked. There’s something really lovely about the way he’s built up these sweeping, almost calligraphic marks. In the areas where the lines are denser, you can see the texture, a kind of subtle darkness. But then, in other places, there’s this lightness, where the paper peeks through, and a little yellow, just enough to keep you guessing. It reminds me a little of Franz Kline, that same kind of boldness but with more of a whisper. What I like is the idea of art being a conversation, Hartung talking to Kline, maybe, and then us, talking back to them both. Art, you know, it’s not about answers; it’s about keeping the questions alive.