Untitled

“The ideal is a painting surface that can stand up to the real, concrete colors that have quality and strength,” Saitō once said, insisting that paintings themselves must be understood to—or must be made to—“solidly exist.” In 1960 he first used a power drill to scar the surface of his works; the small circular depressions in this relief were produced by the carefully controlled pressure of such a drill, at once an act of aggression against the previously flat surface of the panel and also a gesture of decoration or elaboration. In this complex composition, the irregular grid of drilled depressions is counterbalanced by the sleek white curved elements collaged around them. Meanwhile the vibrant, almost velvety blue paint appeals as much to a viewer’s sense of touch as to her eye.