I find this work so interesting on many levels: the artist’s technique of building up a rich, velvety surface over time that evolves into something almost sculptural; the text, obscured yet palpable, inviting the viewer to really look hard to decipher meaning; and its relation to other artists I admire in the collection, whose work also incorporates text, like Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.

Submitted by Michael Duffy, Paintings Conservator