Mass Tone: Manganese Blue

Since the early 1970s, Marcia Hafif has systematically examined the historical and technical fundamentals of painting. Her body of work is rigorous and investigative, with a resolute concentration on color manifested by exquisitely complex monochrome paintings. Hafif often employs paint mixtures she has made herself, grinding a pigment with a muller and combining it with linseed oil. Mass Tone: Manganese Blue, titled after the specific pigment used, is from the first series of paintings for which Hafif created her own paints in this way. Unlike commercial paint from the tube, which contains various additives and binders, her handmade paints can behave unpredictably. As Hafif has stated, this patient technique was chosen because it “let a color . . . express itself, reveal its multiple nuances.” Her process invites us to perceive each particular paint mixture as matter rather than simply as color.