Two Part Blue 1964

Gene Davis made this stripe painting with acrylic on canvas and what strikes me is the directness of the marks, how the colour becomes the subject. It's like he's saying, "Here it is, plain and simple." The texture is smooth, the colors are opaque, and the stripes are hard-edged and flat. There is very little evidence of the artist's hand, though the subtle variations in colour intensity and edge reveal the touch of the painter. Look at the black stripes, how they ground the more vibrant colours, but are not quite matte. It's easy to imagine Davis methodically applying each stripe, considering the relationship between each color and the next. The narrow white stripe acts as a pivotal point around which the composition turns. Davis's stripe paintings remind me a little of Agnes Martin's grids, in that they both use repetition and simplicity to create something visually complex and emotionally resonant. This painting is a reminder that art doesn't have to be complicated to be profound, and I think that's a beautiful thing.