Nexus II - Morris Louis

A 1962 Color Field painting by Morris Louis, featuring vertical bands of blue, green, and light tone applied to canvas.

Nexus II, created in 1962, represents the final phase of Morris Louis's career. As a central figure in the Washington Color School, Louis developed a technique involving the application of thinned acrylic resin paint, known as Magna, onto unprimed canvas. This method allowed the pigment to soak directly into the fibres, removing the physical texture of brushstrokes and creating a unified surface where colour and support become one. In this work, the composition is defined by vertical bands of colour. The blue and green sections flank a central, lighter strip, creating a sense of balance and spatial tension. By eliminating traditional painterly gestures, Louis focused on the optical properties of the pigments themselves. The transparency of the paint allows the weave of the canvas to remain visible, which adds a subtle texture to the otherwise flat application of colour. This approach reflects the artist's interest in the purity of the medium and the interaction of chromatic fields. Louis's work from this period is often associated with the transition from the gestural style of earlier abstract painters toward a more controlled, formalist aesthetic. The absence of a central subject or narrative allows the viewer to engage directly with the scale and the chromatic relationships present on the canvas. The work functions as a study in how colour can define space without the need for traditional perspective or figurative elements. The simplicity of the vertical arrangement provides a clear structure, while the variations in the density of the paint application suggest a fluid, almost atmospheric quality. This piece remains a clear example of the artist's late-career focus on the relationship between colour, light, and the physical surface of the canvas.