Distraction 1928

Arthur Dove conjured this watercolor, Distraction, on paper, and it's like a visual poem. The marks are so direct, so immediate, that you sense Dove making choices as he goes, each brushstroke a reaction to the last. The surface is alive with the texture of the paper. The thin washes let the light bounce around, creating a mood that's both airy and grounded. Take that pinkish-red shape, like a flower or maybe a thought bubble, with those horizontal lines cutting through. It’s like Dove is trying to capture something fleeting, pinning it down with those firm, dark strokes. The black line at the bottom, that could be landscape, or the edge of a table is gestural, almost scribbled, which makes it feel authentic. Dove was onto something, seeing the world in these abstract, emotional terms. It reminds me a bit of the later work of Philip Guston, that same willingness to embrace imperfection and ambiguity. Art is a conversation, and Dove was a great speaker.