Phenomena Fractured Inscription

Rivers of red, yellow, and green pour across this canvas as if the paint were still moving, freezing a moment of pure liquid motion. Paul Jenkins, an American painter active through the second half of the twentieth century, made this work as part of his ongoing "Phenomena" series. Rather than pushing paint around with a brush, he thinned his colors and poured them directly onto the surface, then tilted the canvas and steered the flowing pigment with an ivory knife. The result is a set of glowing veils that seem to bleed into one another instead of stacking in layers.

Though Jenkins is often grouped with the Abstract Expressionists, his method feels quieter and more deliberate than the fierce splatter and gesture of many of his contemporaries. Light and water fascinated him, and he chased the feeling of colors so transparent they resemble stained glass. The title "Fractured Inscription" suggests a message torn into pieces, so the shapes and shades are left for the viewer to puzzle out. Stand with it a while and the colors seem to keep drifting, even though nothing on the canvas has moved at all.