Pink and Black 2002

Ed Clark made this painting, Pink and Black, with paint on canvas, and well, what can I say other than that it’s gorgeous? Look at how the paint is dragged across the surface. You can just tell that making this was all about the process. It feels like it was made with a really big squeegee or a wide brush to make those horizontal marks. The color shifts from pink at the top to grey in the middle, ending with black at the bottom. Notice how the pink isn't just one tone; it's got variations, a bit like watercolor, really transparent. The black at the bottom is thick and chunky. There's a real weight to it, a kind of grounding effect. It's as though the black is holding the pink, which might otherwise float away. Clark was always experimenting with color and form and this piece reminds me a little of Helen Frankenthaler, in the sense of her letting the paint really speak. But where Frankenthaler can be quite airy, Clark brings this grounded weight. There's a real tension between the delicate and the solid, a sense of balance that doesn't settle, you know? Painting at its best isn’t about answers but about possibilities.