North America 45n 120w

Creative Rationale

Over the high desert plateau of eastern Oregon near the Columbia River Gorge, extremely low atmospheric pressure creates a sense of spatial compression while moderate winds from the east drive diagonal slashing movements across the composition. The anomalously cold temperature of 12.2 K shifts the palette toward the greys, blacks, and stark whites of de Kooning's urban period, while the dry 40% humidity creates harsh, unblended color transitions where raw pigments collide without the softening effect of moisture.