Transpercer la transparence (7) 1951

Gherasim Luca made this translucent collage, layered with floating squares and triangles. I imagine him shuffling these pale shapes around on the page, working with the chance and light. The title, ‘Transpercer la transparence’, is so great—'piercing the transparent.' Think of it! It sounds like a dare to himself. What a thought! Trying to push through a surface that is already permeable. But maybe it's more about how those almost imperceptible layers add up and create something new. Something that might not have been there without all that careful overlaying. The pale colours and the embossed border, it reminds me of Kurt Schwitters’ collages. A gentle but determined energy, don’t you think? It’s that idea of artists being in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. They all looked at each other, they looked at the world, and they found a way to pierce through the ordinary, the superficial, and the predictable.