Oxnard Madame 1961

Matsumi Kanemitsu made "Oxnard Madame" with lithography—a printmaking process that feels a lot like painting. I see the artist layering marks, maybe starting with that watery ground, scraping and pushing ink around, and then adding bold shapes. I imagine Kanemitsu thinking about Franz Kline, those big black shapes floating in space, but wanting something more ephemeral, more personal, less heroic. That horizontal slash of orange slicing through the black forms—is it anger? A resolution? I bet Kanemitsu was fascinated by the push-and-pull between control and chance, the way a print can surprise you. And those little splatters! I imagine the artist flinging ink, making a mess on purpose. It reminds us that art is about process, about experimenting, about letting go and seeing what happens.