Untitled (Verticals and Horizontals) 1970

Francois Morellet made this untitled piece with verticals and horizontals. What strikes me first is the process, it is so logical and yet the eye bounces all over. I love when art can be both planned and a little chaotic. There's a real physicality to those lines, I can almost feel the steady hand that laid them down. Look at how each little square interacts with its neighbors, creating larger patterns that emerge and dissolve. It's like a visual game of hide-and-seek. The black and white contrast is stark and uncompromising, which makes it so visually arresting. Morellet reminds me a little of Sol LeWitt, in that he's interested in systems, but there's a playfulness here too. He invites us to get lost in the details. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about questions.