Composition 1979

Editor: This is Serge Brignoni’s "Composition" from 1979, an oil painting that, for me, feels like looking at a broken mirror reflecting abstract shapes. What do you see in this piece that speaks to you? Curator: The formal arrangement is compelling. Note the tension created by the interplay of geometric and biomorphic forms. The palette, too, is intriguing. How do the juxtaposition of blues and oranges contribute to the painting's overall structure? Editor: I hadn't thought of the color relationships that way. I was so caught up in the shapes. So, are you suggesting the artist is primarily interested in the arrangement and structure rather than conveying a specific narrative? Curator: Precisely. Consider the brushwork – thick impasto in some areas, thin washes in others. The materiality of the paint itself becomes a key element, almost as if the medium dictates the message. It's about the act of painting itself and the language of form, color and texture. What elements contribute to your mirror analogy? Editor: I think the fragmented composition and contrasting color palette is what led me to think about it in that sense, alongside how different sections were layered. Is there more of an objective viewpoint to the color, texture, shape, and material, rather than whatever the artist means? Curator: Formalism posits that the meaning of an artwork resides within these elements themselves, not in external references or artist intentions. Our encounter with it, we respond and analyse. So while we discussed layers, colours and other elements of visual art, do these interact, and is their presence harmonious to the greater structure, or antithetical? Editor: I suppose this shifts my view from searching for meaning in what it depicts to analyzing how its arrangement conveys it. Thanks! Curator: Indeed. The work encourages this analytical engagement with the pure language of art. It prompts us to contemplate if, and how the painting is working through how the colour, material and shape come together.