Painting #05-03 2005

Editor: Here we have Rudolf de Crignis’ “Painting #05-03” from 2005, rendered in acrylic. It’s...grey. A solid, pale grey square. Honestly, it's kind of calming. What’s your take? What am I missing? Curator: Calming is a lovely word for it. I feel it too – like a quiet, overcast day, the kind where you can hear the birds even in the city. You see, for me, it's less about what’s *in* the painting and more about what arises *from* the painting within you. De Crignis invites us to experience pure colour, unburdened by representation. Close your eyes for a second, and *then* open them and look at the painting again. Has anything shifted? Editor: Huh. I do feel... a little different. Like my brain had to reset. Curator: Exactly! It's a portal, of sorts. This monochrome surface is inviting you to contemplate the subtleties of colour, texture, light... it whispers questions. Is it *just* grey? What shade is it, really? What does that particular shade evoke? Do you see the influence of colour field painting in this meditative surface? Editor: I see what you mean about subtleties; it's definitely more nuanced than I initially thought. Is it hard-edged too? Because there is a subtle effect going on with its flatness that gives an architectural feeling... almost like gazing at a building, I suppose. I’m wondering about the influence of modernism as well…it's much less simple than a square canvas. Curator: Precisely! I always come away seeing something new; a new hue, a new thought, or a new emotional tenor. Thank you for opening your mind – and your eyes – to this beautiful grey! Editor: Thanks for opening my eyes as well, or I might have simply just seen gray!