Splay 1979

Curator: John Hoyland's "Splay," created in 1979 using acrylic paint, presents us with an intriguing composition. Editor: My immediate feeling? It’s brooding. That dark blue ground makes everything else feel like it’s emerging from shadows. Like buried memories surfacing. Curator: Indeed. Hoyland was deeply invested in abstract expressionism, a movement known for its exploration of subconscious emotions through non-representational forms. Look at the arrangement of the geometric forms – squares, rectangles, a triangle. Editor: I see the forms but what's most striking is the materiality of the paint. The layering gives depth, especially with that intensely black square. It sucks you in, doesn't it? It’s as though Hoyland is pushing against traditional notions of pictorial space. Curator: The rough texture, visible brushstrokes, even the slight imperfections – they all contribute to the work’s physicality. They echo the raw and emotive qualities typical of Abstract Expressionism. Do you notice the relationships created through the juxtapositions of dark vs. light? Editor: Oh absolutely. That electric blue rectangle slashes diagonally; it feels dynamic and aggressive. The overall feeling is discordant, like an unresolved chord. Yet, despite the bold, almost confrontational aesthetic, the composition does strike me as deliberately and very meticulously thought-out, even structured. Curator: Well said. Hoyland’s work consistently investigated the potential of color and form to evoke feeling. In "Splay," that sense of controlled chaos seems paramount. Editor: It makes you consider how geometry is perceived in unconventional means - an unconventional mode in Abstract art, in which pure feelings are the artist's intention! It has a brutal honesty that makes me keep looking for further contemplation! Curator: Absolutely; its strength resides in precisely this tension! It provides the feeling of depth of pure abstraction! Editor: Yes, I concur - to me, this picture shows raw sentiments, in a geometric and somewhat balanced presentation of how feelings exist within each of us. A very unique and deeply personal approach by John Hoyland.