Agnes Martin

Agnes Martin was well-known for her contributions to the Abstract Expressionism and Minimalist art movements. Her artworks were serene paintings made of grids and stripes. By varying the tone, proportion, subtleties of the lines, Agnes’ works were filled with intricacy and focus. Her style was inspired by the belief in the transformative power of art and its ability to conjure ‘abstract emotions’ such as happiness, love, and experiences of innocence, freedom, beauty and perfection.

I love Agnes Martin’s works because of its simplicity. It shows that good artwork need not be overly done or complicated. Her works do evoke a sense of peace in me whenever I look at them. Another aspect of Agnes Martin’s work that I love are the titles of her works. The titles compliment the paintings, making the viewer wonder what were the experiences that Agnes had went through that inspired these works.

Julie Mehretu

Julie Mehretu’s large-scale gestural paintings are achieved by layering acrylic paints on canvas, then overlaying marks using tools such as pencil, pen and paint. Her narratives are told through images of cities, histories, wars and geography. Hints of her own personal life and viewpoints were also revealed through these narratives.

The marks that Julie Mehretu makes are free-flowing and expressive. It is interesting to see how she used a range of different media to create a harmonious and cohesive artwork. Besides painting on canvas, Julie Mehretu also explored painting on linen, this inspires me to give more thought about the medium that I am going to be working on.

Mark Bradford

Mark Bradford is well-known for his large-scale abstract paintings that tackle social issues. His richly layered and collaged canvases represent a connection to the social world through materials. He uses found materials such as posters, billboards, newsprint, etc to engage with and advance the formal traditions of abstract painting.

There is something about Mark Bradford’s works that transports me to another dimension. His works are like a window to another world, giving me a glimpse of what the world looks like through his eyes.

References

• Guggenheim. (2017). Agnes Martin. [online] Available at: https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/agnes-martin [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
• Julie Mehretu | Marian Goodman Gallery Website. (2017). Julie Mehretu | Marian Goodman Gallery. [online] Available at: http://mariangoodman.com/artist/julie-mehretu [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
• Cube, W. (2017). Artist | White Cube. [online] Whitecube.com. Available at: http://whitecube.com/artists/julie_mehretu/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
• Thebroad.org. (2017). Mark Bradford | The Broad. [online] Available at: https://www.thebroad.org/art/mark-bradford [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].
• Mark Bradford. (2017). Tomorrow is Another Day | Mark Bradford. [online] Available at: http://www.markbradfordvenice2017.org/ [Accessed 24 Aug. 2017].