Untitled 1948

This small oil painting, made by Forrest Bess, it’s full of marks that look like they’ve been brushed on quickly, and then left. I get the feeling that Bess made this in a short burst of energy. Up close, you can see how Bess loaded his brush with paint. The thick, almost sculptural strokes of yellow and grey create a pulsating rhythm, drawing your eye from the edges to the center. The brown form that sits at the bottom feels a bit like a landscape, maybe a strange building. It’s got a window, or maybe it’s a void, filled with dark blue. Bess’s paintings always feel like they’re hovering between representation and abstraction, pulling you into a world of symbols. He reminds me a little bit of Hilma af Klint, another painter who wasn’t afraid to let their own mystical thinking guide their hand. Bess isn’t trying to tell you what to think, it’s more like an invitation to dive in.