I like to imagine the conversations about color Rothko must have had with his close friend, the painter Ad Reinhart, who made hard edge geometric works that reveal their color slowly and was known for his black paintings. In some ways, these two artists were polar opposites, yet their work equally shows their understanding of color and their ability to create nuance in darkness and monochrome. I can imagine that they must have appreciated each other, while also engaging in a competition that lead teach to articulate through paint and color/darkness a new and significant way of working.

It is no coincidence that Rothko’s palette shifted during the upheavals of the 1960s. During the last decade of his life, Rothko lived through the Vietnam war, the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, our lakes and rivers on fire from pollution, and bombings in churches and synagogues. And his palette became darker: reds and maroons, dark blues and greens that are almost black. I am sure Rothko understood the need for this palette during turbulent times, both for himself and the viewer. Rothko wanted to answer the need for a meditation and reflection through color and form. I am not saying that Rothko was trying to express the turbulence of the times through his palette. He was not in the least a narrative artist and I think he would cringe at the notion of seeing these works as biographical. Rather, I think the greatly empathetic nature of this artist lead him to make works that would allow the viewer to reach a different level divorced from the ruptures of life, and through the experience of the work arrive at a meditative and transformative state. This is also what made them perfect for the De Menils to commission Rothko for their nondenominational chapel as a place for all to find quietude and reflection in the palette of darkness.

This year also has been turbulent, not only because of devastating hurricanes, flooding and earthquakes, but also because of political and social upheaval. I and many of my friends and contemporaries feel an unrest reminiscent of our childhood in the 1960s when war and civil unrest in this country played out nightly on our TV screens. It has been a difficult time since the 2016 election, and many, including myself, have had sleepless nights and our minds are deeply troubled. When I saw the dark palette paintings this past December, I felt a quieting of my mind, a focus on their color and scale. A quiet meditative composure filled me, and I noticed that my breathing changed. In these difficult times, I think we need these Rothko works more and more.