Exercise in Basic Colors and Shapes 1922 - 1923

Editor: This piece is called "Exercise in Basic Colors and Shapes" by Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack. It looks like a child's toy, but something about the placement of the shapes on that black ground feels very intentional. What do you see in it? Curator: For me, it's an invitation to slow down. We're so bombarded with visual information; this asks us to just *be* with a triangle, a square, a circle. It's deceptively simple. Doesn’t it almost feel meditative? Editor: Meditative, yes! I hadn't thought of it that way. I was stuck on "simple." Curator: Maybe that's the point. To find the profound in the simple. Or, perhaps, it's a sly wink at how we try to complicate things! Editor: I see that now. It makes me wonder if I overthink things. Curator: Don’t we all? It's a great reminder.