Untitled 1973

This untitled diptych was made by Leon Polk Smith, but I’m not certain when or with what. It’s a hard-edged abstraction, simple and bold, yet so effective. On the left, we've got orange, green, and black semi-circles stacked like a totem. Then to the right, Smith flips the script, swapping orange for red and mirroring the composition. The colors are so flat, so graphic, that it almost feels printed. Yet, look closer, and you can see the subtle variations in the paint, the way the colors butt up against each other. I love the way the hard edges allow the artist to play with color relationships and spatial illusions. This piece reminds me of Ellsworth Kelly, another master of color and shape, but Smith has a raw, almost folksy energy that’s all his own. It shows how abstraction can be both rigorous and deeply personal, inviting us to find our own connections in its playful geometry.