Landscapes of New York, 'Sueño en el puente de Brooklyn' 1997

Editor: Here we have Pablo Rey’s "Landscapes of New York, ‘Sueño en el puente de Brooklyn’" from 1997, created with acrylic paint. It's incredibly subtle – a delicate web of lines. What is your interpretation of this work? Curator: It’s interesting that Rey calls this a "landscape". At first glance, it appears to be pure abstraction, right? But considering the title and Rey's background, I wonder about its socio-political context. How does the artist make commentary on landscapes and architecture in the late 20th century through this abstract approach? What commentary is this artist making by using New York's landscape, a historically immigrant landscape, as a focal point? Editor: I see what you mean. The bridge as a symbol – connecting places but also potentially isolating people within the urban environment. Is there a commentary about connectivity versus alienation in urban settings? Curator: Precisely! The seemingly random web of lines could represent the complex network of social connections and infrastructural systems that define modern city life, like New York. Does it depict the way power structures become invisible infrastructure to those who don’t hold it? The light washes, almost erased look to the paint could speak to the transient, dreamlike nature of urban experience, perhaps, or the historical layering of immigrant experiences upon that landscape. Editor: That gives me a different perspective on the work. I initially saw it as purely formal, but now I see it as deeply connected to the cultural landscape of New York. Curator: It highlights how abstract art isn't divorced from social realities. Artists often engage with the world around them, even when their work doesn't explicitly depict it. Abstraction is itself an interpretation. Editor: Thanks for showing me the political themes hiding within Rey’s art. I learned to ask myself whose landscape the artist portrays in abstraction.