Alassio - Nice 1971

Curator: "Alassio - Nice," a mixed-media painting completed in 1971 by Joaquim Rodrigo, presents an array of seemingly unrelated geometric forms on a muted olive ground. What strikes you first about this composition? Editor: It's almost dreamlike, this juxtaposition of recognizable, but simplified, figures creates a visual field ripe with associative possibilities. I'm particularly drawn to the textural contrasts—the matte ground against the crispness of the white lines, for example. Curator: Rodrigo, despite living through tumultuous periods of Portuguese history, developed a distinctive style of playful, graphic-based abstraction, which is on full display here. It is an incredibly bold approach, especially against the dominant styles being celebrated by the elites. The fact that it blends painting with mixed-media heightens its impact and underscores the cultural message the artist seems intent on conveying. Editor: It feels as though the symbolic, not necessarily mimetic, properties of form and color are paramount. Note how these stark black and white shapes stand against this rather earthy background. They are bold but also invite you closer to inspect how the artist creates a landscape that defies any natural form. Curator: Consider how abstraction became a sort of refuge for artists, a language to explore identity and express cultural dissent indirectly during authoritarian regimes. Artists could imbue simple forms with complex social and political critiques. We could speculate here whether this abstraction itself, became, by default, a critical act? Editor: Absolutely, it becomes a system of visual encoding—perhaps a visual metaphor for freedom of thought? Also, note the interplay of positive and negative space in each of the figures. They almost become miniature artworks in and of themselves! Curator: "Alassio - Nice" isn't just a composition of shapes; it's a fascinating historical record reflecting an artist's engagement with the world through his unique lens and an act of social commentary. Editor: A striking visual poem! It rewards prolonged contemplation through the artful layering of form, texture and possibly, the story behind it all.