Dalet Aleph 1958

Morris Louis made this with paint, and it's called Dalet Aleph. It's really about process; you can see how the paint was poured and manipulated, and it's almost like the making of the painting is the subject of the painting. Up close, you can see the staining, the textures, and the way the color seeps into the canvas. I love how the edges of the dark shape aren't precise. The way the paint bleeds and feathers out is just so beautiful. The painting is about this very particular shade of grey, a moody color that suggests depth. Louis's poured paintings remind me a little of Helen Frankenthaler's work, who also let thinned paint soak into raw canvas, creating these lyrical, ethereal compositions. Both artists seemed to be asking: What can painting be? How can it move beyond representation towards something more direct, more felt? There are no right or wrong answers when you look at art, just different ways of seeing and feeling.