Untitled 1960

Curator: This piece is an untitled drawing by Aldo Mondino, created in 1960, using ink as its medium. It strikes me as a fascinating example of Mondino's early engagement with abstraction. Editor: Whoa, my first thought? A dreamy lab experiment gone rogue! Or maybe some bizarre alien biology textbook doodle. I love the scattered, delicate feeling of it. It feels very 'stream of consciousness' but there is an anchor, dark to the bottom. Curator: That darker base provides a certain grounding. The 1960s were, of course, a period of significant political and social upheaval, and we can interpret abstraction, as seen in this piece, as a response to and a commentary on these tumultuous times. This art often offered an escape from explicit representation, critiquing established orders in its very form. Editor: Absolutely. It is like visual jazz. And in its chaotic energy, it resonates. Each squiggle, line, blotch seems like an emotion or a tiny rebellion trying to break free. Those little dashes of red feel so defiant, especially surrounded by all that subtle ink wash. Curator: Looking closely, one can observe how Mondino employs line and form to express complex ideas, reflecting his broader artistic practice which often engages with themes of cultural identity, memory, and the post-war condition. Editor: It's the kind of drawing you could stare at for hours and still keep finding new, tiny narratives. Like the way certain lines seem to connect seemingly disparate elements…is that a floating clam or something more otherworldly? The mystery is half the fun. It's strangely comforting too. Like, even in chaos, there's something beautiful struggling to be seen. Curator: And it challenges viewers, encouraging an active engagement. Mondino invites us to find meaning, even if fleeting, in the apparent randomness of the lines and the splashes of colour. I think it highlights, in many ways, the modernist inclination of that time, with hints of futurism mixed in, conceptually. Editor: Agreed. The futurism elements remind us we have yet to see where it goes… that these elements and squiggles will carry on far beyond our time in interesting configurations and iterations. Curator: Indeed, and contemplating on Mondino's exploration of abstraction through the lens of post-war anxiety and social change has definitely given me a new perspective. Editor: Yeah, for me it is the freedom and mystery contained in something so minimalistic, yet, ultimately, abundant. A sweet rebellion against predictability and perfectly defined lines.