Blue Green and Violet 1967

Howard Mehring made this painting called Blue Green and Violet with some kind of paint, though I can’t tell exactly what kind. What strikes me about the piece is the bands of colour that zigzag across the canvas. It seems like he’s interested in the push and pull between colours, making them vibrate against each other. Look at how the violet kinda hums against the green, making your eyes dance a little. The surface looks smooth, almost like he’s sanded it down, which makes the colours feel even more intense and flat. I wonder if he used tape to get those clean lines, or if he had a super steady hand? Either way, there’s something cool and precise about the execution, but also playful in the way the colours bounce around. Mehring reminds me a bit of Josef Albers, who also loved to explore how colours interact, but in a more geometric way. With Mehring, there’s a freedom and looseness that keeps it exciting. It’s like he’s inviting us to join him in a visual game, where the rules are simple, but the possibilities endless.