Settlement Magenta 1980

Warren Rohrer created this painting, Settlement Magenta, by layering and building up color. I love the horizon line, which is so subtle, the meeting of the land with the sky, the material with the immaterial. I wonder what Rohrer was thinking when he made this? When I look at it, I feel an openness of thought that is quiet and reflective. It feels like a Rothko but without the drama. It has a calm, measured quality, which perhaps comes from Rohrer’s Amish background. The surface feels like it’s been scrubbed into the canvas, a very physical act, the application of the magenta fighting with the grey below, like a memory that is trying to be recalled. The painting has a meditative quality, which is very moving. It’s a reminder that the act of painting is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, with artists inspiring one another's creativity.