Rothko Chapel 1967

Mark Rothko made these paintings for the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Here the paintings are huge, dark, and immersive, like staring into a void. You can almost feel the layers of paint building up, creating a surface that seems to breathe. Look closely, and you'll see subtle variations in tone, a kind of shimmering effect that draws you in. It’s a real process of layering, dissolving, and building up again. These aren't paintings you just look at; they're paintings you experience. The way the colors bleed into one another, the soft edges, it's like a visual meditation. In the triptych, at the centre of the far wall, there’s a subtle vertical seam that almost disappears, or perhaps becomes more obvious, as the light changes. The chapel is such an incredible setting for these works. Rothko's project echoes Barnett Newman’s late work, ‘Stations of the Cross’, exploring similar territory, and pushing the boundaries of what painting can be. It's all about feeling, about being present in the moment. These paintings hold space for doubt, uncertainty, and endless possibility.