Letter About Rocks #3, Blue Ground 2010

Brice Marden made this piece, Letter About Rocks #3, Blue Ground, with loose lines floating over a wash of blues. I wonder what it was like for him when he made it? Maybe he was thinking about landscape, or maybe he was just enjoying the feel of the pen in his hand. The orange and black lines kind of dance across the surface, like figures in a landscape. The blue is soft and dreamy, creating a world for the lines to inhabit. It almost feels like Marden is writing with color. Marden was influenced by Cy Twombly, who was also interested in lines and gestures. But Marden brings something else to the table, a kind of quiet intensity. Artists are constantly talking to each other through their work. And when I look at this piece, I feel like I’m listening in on a conversation between two really interesting painters, as though they are jamming.