Untitled 1965

Editor: This is an "Untitled" piece by Thomas Downing, from 1965. It looks like acrylic on canvas, arranged in a diamond grid. It feels quite simple, but I am also drawn to the use of circles of differing colors among mostly uniform reds. How would you interpret this work? Curator: We can understand this piece through the pure visual relationships presented. Let’s consider the shape itself; the lozenge. How does its geometry interact with the arrangement of the circles? Editor: Well, the circles seem uniformly distributed within the shape, almost regardless of the borders...except where color shifts and disrupts it. Curator: Precisely. Now observe the palette: a careful arrangement of chromatic intensities, each circle a discrete unit, yet unified by repetition and relative color warmth. Note the tension between the flat surface and the suggestion of depth created by the color variations. How do you read those disruptions to the visual pattern? Editor: I initially viewed the other colors as being 'wrong' when the vast majority are different shades of red, as if they disrupt an anticipated design, which forces me to focus on those points within the greater composition. Curator: Exactly. The artist engages with the pictorial surface, calling attention to its inherent qualities rather than representing external realities. It invites a visual experience divorced from narrative or symbolism, focusing purely on form and color. Editor: I never considered the pure visual relationships it presents! It feels like this new view frees it from needing to mean anything, and I can now appreciate how all the artistic elements combine to present such unique work. Curator: Indeed; it offers a space for aesthetic contemplation based upon fundamental, concrete forms.