Mutation serielle verte-rouge 1966

This is Mutation serielle verte-rouge by Guido Molinari and I can only imagine the hours he spent trying to resolve it! I'm sympathetic to any artist attempting such tight geometries because the slightest waver of the hand can ruin the whole game. But it's also what makes it interesting. I see Molinari working, making decisions, and trying to get it right. I see the push-pull of color and the hard-won optical effects. The red and green seem to vibrate. It’s fascinating how these bold, simple stripes create so much visual buzz. You can see how he's playing with the legacy of artists like Barnett Newman. I like to think of artists in conversation across time, inspiring each other, and pushing the boundaries of what painting can do. We bring our experiences and moods to our seeing, which means that a painting like this is never truly “finished.” It’s always open to new interpretations and meanings.