AT 1812, INSPIRATION IS RARELY LITERAL. IT EMERGES THROUGH ATMOSPHERE, THROUGH COLOUR, THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL RESONANCE OF FORM. FEW ARTISTS EMBODY THIS PHILOSOPHY MORE PROFOUNDLY THAN MARK ROTHKO.
MARK ROTHKO WAS BORN MARCUS ROTHKOWITZ IN 1903 IN WHAT IS NOW LATVIA. HIS FAMILY EMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES WHEN HE WAS A CHILD. BY THE LATE 1940S HE HAD ABANDONED REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGERY ENTIRELY, SEEKING SOMETHING DEEPER THAN NARRATIVE. HIS WORK MOVED TOWARD PURE ABSTRACTION, LARGE RECTANGULAR FIELDS OF COLOUR, SOFTLY LAYERED AND FLOATING AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. AT FIRST GLANCE THE WORKS APPEAR SIMPLE. YET WHEN EXPERIENCED IN PERSON THEY REVEAL IMMENSE DEPTH. EDGES BLUR. COLOURS BREATHE. LIGHT SEEMS TO MOVE ACROSS THE SURFACE. ROTHKO DESCRIBED HIS PAINTINGS AS EXPRESSIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN EMOTIONS, TRAGEDY, ECSTASY, SOLITUDE AND TRANSCENDENCE.
THE ROTHKO CHAPEL, COMPLETED IN 1971 SHORTLY AFTER HIS DEATH, HOUSES A SERIES OF MONUMENTAL DARK CANVASES CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE SPACE. THE ROOM INVITES CONTEMPLATION RATHER THAN SPECTACLE. FOR ROTHKO, ART WAS NEVER DECORATION. IT WAS A SPACE FOR REFLECTION.
AT 1812, ROTHKO'S INFLUENCE APPEARS NOT IN LITERAL VISUAL REFERENCE BUT IN PHILOSOPHY. HIS WORK ENCOURAGES A DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO DESIGN. A BELIEF THAT SUBTLETY CARRIES STRENGTH. THAT DEPTH DOES NOT REQUIRE COMPLEXITY. ONLY INTENTION.
