Album #6 1988

Curator: Terry Winters’ "Album #6," held here at the Tate, presents a cluster of cell-like forms rendered in muted tones. What do you make of it? Editor: It feels like looking at something under a microscope. Sort of ominous, like a beautiful disease. Curator: Winters often explored organic and mathematical systems. His work became known in the 1980s for referencing science and nature. Editor: It makes me think about how institutions can shape our perception. Viewing this in a gallery, I'm prompted to see beauty, but I might react with disgust in a biological lab. Curator: That's a compelling point. It speaks to the power of context, and the layers of meaning we project onto these seemingly simple forms. Editor: Exactly. Perhaps that tension is exactly what Winters was hoping to evoke.