The Colors Touch Each Other 2005

Ettore Spalletti created "The Colors Touch Each Other" using a labor-intensive process involving carefully applied layers of paint. The material here isn't just paint, it's color itself, teased out into subtle gradations. Spalletti wasn't just applying pigment; he was building up a surface, almost like fresco. The handwork involved, the repetitive gestures of layering and smoothing, give the work a meditative quality. You can imagine the artist in the studio, slowly coaxing these hues into being. The title itself points to the careful registration of one color against the other, a material encounter. But it also draws you in as a viewer. It elevates the action of observing, encouraging you to slow down, and become aware of the subtle variations that are present in front of you. Spalletti asks us to consider the quiet power of making and perception, resisting the urge to separate art from craft, and thought from action.