CHARCOAL GRAY

Charcoal gray is, to me, a soft and gentle black. It brings to mind Hiroshi Sugimoto's Theaters series: a moment when time seems to stand still just before something begins. Every time I see those photographs, I find myself wondering what is about to happen.

There is a pure, childlike joy that wells up at the instant something begins, and thinking of it, charcoal gray starts to look strangely colorful.

Other images come to mind as well: an early Mondrian painting of light reflecting on water, Ansel Adams's black-and-white photographs of Yosemite Valley, and Giacometti's standing figures.