Tondo VII 1984

Keith Anden Achepohl made this watercolor, Tondo VII, on paper sometime in the 20th or 21st century. The composition is of hard-edged geometric shapes, mostly in muted blues, greens, and greys, all contained within a circle. Looking closely, you can see how the texture of the paper influences the color. The paint seems to settle into the fibres, creating these soft, mottled effects. Then there's that gorgeous, almost pearlescent grey that Achepohl used for the outer ring, it shimmers and glows like mother-of-pearl. There is something about the green triangle on the right that really makes the piece for me. It divides the image, almost breaking up the composition. It makes me think about a conversation between artists like Agnes Martin and Sol Lewitt, who both embraced geometry, yet were very different in their approach. For me, this piece reminds me that art is an ongoing experiment, an exchange of ideas across generations.