Agnes Martin: Stars

This is a piece from artist Agnes Martin executed in 1963. Martin is known for her simplistic, uniform works and trademark grid patterns. She has described the grid patterns as "sublimity of reality, perfection or transcendent reality." In Stars, she uses the grid to convey the concept of the sky. "We perceive a grid, but…we recognize a form of nature imagery." I like this piece because there is no central focus, the entire work is balanced, which gives the viewer a sense of harmony. I also appreciate how she uses the blue watercolors and the subtle background strokes to create depth and fluidity; it looks like the piece just keeps going on and on. This relates to the importance of attention to detail that we've been discussing... at first, this looks like a blue square with straight lines across it. But at a closer look, we can see an individual dot within each square, and the contrasting brush strokes in the background.