By Twos — Fine Art

By Twos by Barnett Newman uses two wide vertical marks against a plain field. The marks sit apart from each other and hold the view steady.

The work comes from the colour field painting practice of the artist, where big shapes define the space rather than small details. The fine art frame keeps a clear edge around that field and gives the vertical marks a fixed line on the wall.

A black frame pushes the field back, and a white frame lets the field sit forward. You notice the gap between the two shapes best from the side of a dining room table, where the eye lands on the empty space between them.