Week #21, Thinking in Color: Blue IV

Dusti Bongé, Untitled (Blue Rectangle & Square on Black Ground), 1984, watercolor on paper, 5 ½” x 8 ½”.

Our final blue work by Dusti Bongé is rather dark and moody. And again, it is a great example of minimalism at its best. It is also a paragon of the scaleless-ness of abstract art. Upon looking at an image of this work instead of viewing it in person, one could easily believe that this was a large painting. Instead, it is only a very modest 5 ½” x 8 ½”.

The blue hue Dusti used here does not elicit that coastal waterfront vibe but conjures more of a shady, hot, bayou or swamp water where anything may be lurking underneath. Given that wetlands are just as much a part of the Gulf Coast experience as is the beachfront, it makes total sense that Dusti would (inadvertently) be just as inspired by them.

As the parenthetical title indicates, this work has a very clear compositional strategy, a prominent square form on the left, flanked by a rectangle of the same height to the right. They are separated and surrounded by a deep black hue with bits of green and sienna shimmering through at the edges. This black border, however, does not read as a background so much, but rather more as a framing devise through which the blue comes forth. It hints at the blue moments you may spot on the water, where the sky breaks through the shadows of the tree canopy.

Dusti employs a tight repetitive pattern of vertical blue strokes, just lightly touched by hairline black marks in this work. This approach creates a density of color that adds to the murky, yet beautiful, swampy mood.