Halifax 1969

Gene Davis made *Halifax* with stripes of color running parallel to each other, like musical notes on a page. I imagine him standing in front of a large canvas, carefully measuring each stripe. You can see the ghost of Barnett Newman, but he decided to let loose, shake it up a little. I can feel him thinking, "What if I make each stripe a different width? What if I put colors next to each other that shouldn't go together?" He lets the painting breathe, and that's the point. It's all about color and rhythm, how the colors vibrate against each other. Like jazz, you know? Each stripe is a different instrument, playing its own tune. Painters like Gene Davis are in conversation with each other. He was inspired by the greats and then did his own thing. The act of painting itself is an inquiry, a way of thinking and seeing the world. It’s alive.