Print 8 1967

Bernard Cohen made this "Print 8" and, you know, I'm immediately drawn to how deceptively simple it seems. It's all about process with a capital P. The way he's built up the surface, it's almost like he’s wrestling with the paint, trying to find some kind of… truth in it. Up close, you can see the physicality of the medium. The paint isn't particularly thick, but it's definitely present; you can sense the artist's hand. It’s interesting that the process is quite obscured. Those circles in the corners though – they're like little portals, little escape routes from the monochrome. They resonate, in a way, with Agnes Martin, who also embraced minimalism but infused it with so much emotion. But this piece seems different. It's a quiet kind of defiance, saying that maybe, just maybe, less really is more.