Beware Familiar Spirits II 2002

Tony DeLap seems to have made "Beware Familiar Spirits II" by carefully layering paint, maybe even sanding in between coats to get this super smooth surface, almost like a car finish. It’s so pristine, so… untouched. I imagine DeLap in his studio, obsessively smoothing out every imperfection, chasing after a kind of impossible perfection. You know, some painters like to see the brushstrokes, the gesture of the hand, but DeLap seems to want to erase himself from the picture, which, in itself, is kind of a gesture. The black edging creates a shadow and a line that really pops, separating the white painting from the white wall it's placed on. This piece reminds me of other minimalists like Agnes Martin or Robert Irwin, artists who were also trying to push painting to its absolute limits. These artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. So, with painting, it's like, what can a painting be? What can it do?