Hieroglyphs No. 12 1969

Lee Krasner made *Hieroglyphs No. 12* with oil on canvas, and it's like watching a memory take shape. The off-white and ochre tones, punctuated by bright yellow, give the impression of an ancient surface, weathered by time, but the marks themselves feel fresh and immediate. I imagine Krasner in her studio, surrounded by tubes of paint, brushes scattered, working spontaneously. See how the paint is applied in layers, some areas thick and textured, others thin and translucent. The circular forms and angular lines seem to hover between representation and abstraction. Look at those yellow dots and dashes, like letters from a forgotten alphabet, connecting one shape to another. Krasner always had a deep respect for the history of painting, and it comes through here. She knew her Mondrian and Matisse and was in conversation with them even as she was making something entirely her own. This painting is a beautiful reminder that art is always a dialogue, a back-and-forth between artists across time.