In 1973 Rothenberg found herself doodling a horse on a piece of canvas. She shortly began a series of paintings featuring a single horse, which, although representational, served as opportunities for the artist to experiment with abstraction. “I think it was a surrogate for dealing with a human being, but at the same time it was neutral enough and I had no emotional relationship to horses,” Rothenberg said of her horse motif. “The horse was just a quiet image. I was able to stick to the philosophy of the day—keeping the painting flat and anti-illusionist—but I also got to use this big, soft, heavy, strong, powerful form.”
Gallery label from Susan Rothenberg, April 15, 2022 – June 12, 2022