Opposing (#15) 1959

Frederick Hammersley made this painting, Opposing (#15), with deceptively simple geometric forms and pure colors. It’s so flat and clean, but it sets up a kind of silent, visual argument. I can imagine Hammersley carefully masking off each section, almost like building with blocks, one color at a time. The red circle hovers like a visual exclamation point, disrupting the order. What was he thinking? I imagine him puzzling over color combinations, searching for that perfect vibration. The way that yellow pushes against the black… It makes me think of Al Held's hard-edge paintings, but with a quieter, more playful spirit. Painting is always like this conversation across time, isn’t it? We keep answering each other’s questions with shapes and colors, never quite resolving anything, but always pushing the dialogue forward. Hammersley reminds us that even in the most controlled compositions, there’s room for a little chaos, a little surprise, and a whole lot of feeling.