Lighthouse 1915

Marsden Hartley made this 'Lighthouse' painting with thick, bold strokes of vibrant colour. I imagine he built this up intuitively, those geometric forms shifting and emerging through trial and error. Sympathizing with Hartley, I wonder if he felt like he was communicating through symbols. That wavy line moving up the red tower, for instance, is so loaded. It could be water, or maybe it’s just pure feeling, channeled through the white paint. There’s a tension in the painting, a feeling of pushing and pulling, that I find exciting. The surface texture has a real presence and it's rough like the ocean. 'Lighthouse' reminds me of other painters like Arthur Dove, and the way he tried to capture the essence of a thing, rather than just its appearance. Artists are always talking to each other, across time, inspiring each other's creativity. Painting embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple readings. It's not about fixing a single meaning, but opening up a space for new possibilities.