Morris Louise

Louise was one of the early pioneers of colour field paintings, and had close associations with the school of painting described as Abstract Expressionism. Louise explored the ideas and concepts of what actually constitutes our perceptions of what a painting is, as a visual physical item. The artist believed that before anything else painting is the art of surface manipulation. The chief feature of the paintings surface is its flatness, and that this feature distinguishes painting from other art forms. Louise used a technique that involved staining the canvas by pouring paint onto unprimed canvas, and letting it run. The act of staining into the surface eliminated any three dimensional qualities inherent in the paint. Louise described how his pouring technique had a clear intent that had a chaotic effect.