Agnes Martin defined herself as an abstract expressionist although critics often described her work as minimalism.
Her serene artworks consisting of grids and stripes, created a profound and calming experience for the viewer influenced by Martin’s interest in Buddhism and Taoism from the early 1950s.
‘Untitled 1959’ (There were various untitled paintings throughout Agnes Martins career) is one of her earlier geometric abstractions created during her time in New York city. This painting is created in oil on canvas and is largely monochromatic, with two central horizontal stripes created in black and white pulling the eye directly to the centre of the painting and up from the pale grey foreground. Like all of Agnes Martins works, the mathematics create perfect symmetry. The top section of this painting is unusual and made ‘Untitled 1959’ stand out to me against her other works. The dark mauve ‘sky’ is streaked and layered with horizontal brush strokes, created by lowering the paints viscosity either with an oil or solvent and applying in thin layers. This artwork is incredibly calming and as the viewer I feel like I am in a desert, looking to the horizon and the sky within this colour field painting.
‘I Love the Whole World’ 1999. Martin passed away aged 92 in 2004 and she continued to create in New Mexico up until her death. This painting although from her later years still contains all the skill and accuracy from her earlier works. From 1966 onward Martin stopped using oil-based paint in favour for acrylic, possibly because of a quicker drying time and the multitude of paint layers within her works. ‘I Love the Whole World’ is created in acrylic on canvas, painted with 16 peach, horizontal stripes on a white background. Another benefit of favouring acrylic over oil paint is the colours (especially white) won’t yellow over time. The stripes are divided accurately into two sets of eight, with a white band directly through the centre of the piece. Thin lines of graphite pencil can still be seen where the artist marked out her composition. Martin creates her stripes of colour by diluting acrylic paint with water to create an almost ‘wash’ like a water colourist. The peach colour in this painting is actually an orange, mixed with a white pigment and large amounts of water, then applied very thinly with a brush. To avoid the paint running and maintain clean lines Agnes Martin would often work on these canvases by rotating them ninety degrees and creating her stripes vertically. This painting is beautifully powerful in its subtlety. Its pale colour palette plays with the light and the stripes guide the eye in an almost optical illusion. ‘I Love the Whole World’ is such a life affirming positive title from an artist still creating in the later years of her life.