These studies explore the conceptual foundation behind Carter’s series Split Decision, a body of work built around the coexistence of two seemingly opposite modes of painting.

One side of the composition leans toward restraint—fields of color and texture that invite quiet contemplation. The other gathers energy and information, filling the space with layered gestures and narrative density. Together they reflect the dual impulses that move through Carter’s practice: the desire for simplicity and stillness alongside the pull toward complexity and expressive abundance.

The studies examine how those two sensibilities can exist within the same visual language. Rather than resolving the tension between them, the works embrace it—revealing the cyclical way Carter moves between minimal clarity and richly layered abstraction.