Zlom (The Break) 1992

Curator: Jana Truksova’s mixed media piece, "Zlom," created in 1992, offers us a compelling example of abstract expressionism through its non-objective composition and combination of printmaking techniques. Editor: Immediately striking. There's a fragmentation here, in both color and form, that conveys, well, a sort of "break" as the title suggests, quite intensely. The limited palette and repeated shapes amplify this feeling. Curator: Observe how Truksova employs geometric abstraction within the piece. The overlaid rectangles and tube-like forms structure a disrupted grid. Notice especially the strategic arrangement of darker shades juxtaposed with a dominant gray, producing varied figure-ground relationships. It’s a fascinating orchestration. Editor: True, but I'm also thinking about how the visible marks of the printmaking process draw attention to its own creation, it’s literally a constructed object. The overlaps, the imperfections in the registration… They tell us a story about labor, about process. It's far from seamless. Curator: Indeed, that material visibility invites consideration. The overlay is central; structural oppositions arise when we explore relationships between geometric precision, as we just observed, and the more emotive expressionistic style conveyed via those marks. Editor: Precisely! It’s as if the artist is highlighting the very means of production, pushing beyond the pure aesthetics and into an awareness of how we perceive art itself – made by hand. What tools were used? What pressures were involved in pulling these prints? These considerations alter meaning and how it reaches an audience. Curator: Well considered. Returning to structure, do the divisions imposed through layering promote the creation of focal points which then disrupt stable viewing practices? Consider that stark area containing the sole reddish circle... Editor: Thinking about process and reception, I am left wondering if it really comes down to what labor went into the process that creates meaning or reception, or if meaning rests in the product. Is it only about appreciating the technical application in terms of skill, and if so, do we as consumers risk overlooking artistic value for just being caught up with production efforts, or technical displays of application. Curator: Ultimately, whether viewing from a formal lens focusing on relationships within forms and colors or with the material's means in mind to access context, "Zlom" presents a robust space of inquiry into abstraction itself. Editor: Definitely. Whether considering material construction or analyzing intrinsic arrangements, we get to feel how this image came to be in this very fractured space.