Neun systematische Farbreihen mit horizontaler und vertikaler Verdichtung 1955

Curator: Wow, that’s vibrant! It practically hums with energy, doesn't it? The composition is striking in its simplicity. Editor: Absolutely. We are looking at Richard Paul Lohse’s, “Neun systematische Farbreihen mit horizontaler und vertikaler Verdichtung,” which translates to Nine Systematic Color Rows with Horizontal and Vertical Condensation, painted in 1955. The medium is acrylic paint on canvas. Curator: Condensation feels right, doesn’t it? It's almost like looking at color under immense pressure, forced into this rigid structure. The artist doesn’t let a color stray from its imposed location. Editor: Lohse was heavily invested in concrete art and its ideals. What's compelling here is that the systematic approach reflects broader social concerns, about the era's drive for order and rationality, but is softened with Color-field painting. Curator: That's what fascinates me. This hard-edged geometry, meticulously applied, surely involved a painstaking process. Look at the way the colors interact at each intersection. The subtle variations… Editor: Indeed. The use of acrylic allows for the precision and flatness we see. There's no visible brushwork to distract from the color relationships themselves. The painting's surface embodies that minimalist aesthetic so crucial at the time. Curator: So, by minimizing the artist’s hand, and making something anyone can manufacture, is he speaking about labor’s ability to change things, and the power it has to create culture? Or is he being controlled himself by that labor? Editor: It's a dialogue! Lohse was invested in democratizing art, and the means by which artwork is perceived within society, suggesting its meaning exists outside bourgeois structures of taste. In the way we decide how culture is made. Curator: Well, whatever his intention, I am sure it leaves a big impression and opens the viewer to different views. Thank you. Editor: A pleasure, indeed, seeing a window to another perception in such a small work makes us think beyond art in a refreshing and invigorating way.