Interno scuro 1962

This "Interno Scuro" is a painting by Tano Festa and it feels like it was made from inside a dream. The two rectangular forms sit one above the other, each filled with a distinct color, like two different emotional registers stacked on top of one another. The top rectangle is a muted dark gray, like a blackboard, while the bottom is a warm, almost fleshy, orange. It feels to me that the paint has been applied in thin, even layers, allowing the colors to breathe. The borders around each plane have a tangible presence, while the internal space is rendered in a way that is flat, opaque and slightly removed. I think of artists like Agnes Martin, who also used simple geometric forms to create contemplative, open-ended experiences. These two color planes, the dark and the light, talk to each other like an unresolved conversation. This piece is not really about answers or conclusions, but about the endless possibilities of how we see and feel the world.