Stock Tie 1935 - 1942

Raymond Manupelli’s “Stock Tie” is a real feat of the imagination. I imagine the artist working on this painting, adding dots and dashes, maybe building up the image like a weaving. I love the way that the artist uses gouache – a kind of opaque watercolor – and pencil. It’s got this matte surface, which feels so different from the slickness we often associate with painting. It's so refreshing. I feel a connection to the artist. Each mark feels deliberate, yet there's a looseness to the overall composition. It makes me wonder about the kind of patience and the almost meditative state it takes to make this kind of painting. It’s a quiet riot of pattern and texture, and it reminds me that art is a conversation across time.