Untitled 1962

Curator: Standing before us is an untitled print by Esteban Vicente, created in 1962. It’s a powerful example of Abstract Expressionism using only red and black ink on paper. Editor: Well, hello drama! My gut reaction? A volcanic eruption. Or maybe a lover's quarrel, visualized. That stark red really grabs you, doesn’t it? Juxtaposed against all that dark, moody ink… Feels raw. Curator: Raw, indeed. Vicente, although part of the New York School, retained a European sensibility. Look at the compositional tension; the play between the solid blocks of color and the gestural, almost violent, marks around them. It mirrors, in my view, the fraught relationship between European tradition and American innovation that defined Abstract Expressionism. Editor: Oh, I love that. The clash of tradition and innovation visualized. Makes the viewing so much more thoughtful. Personally, I just feel it in my solar plexus, that nervous feeling before things are about to go downhill fast. Those craggy shapes…they seem to almost consume the bright red in some parts. Curator: Interesting observation! We need to recall how Abstract Expressionism fits into the anxieties of the Cold War. In times of existential threats, abstraction offered artists an alternative, powerful form of personal expression while evading overt political messaging. This offered them critical approval. Editor: Evading political messaging? Maybe, maybe not. I mean, a field of raw, untamed energy can feel pretty darn rebellious. It may not name names, but it embodies defiance. This work might evoke the pressure and conflict during the time, even in its very monochrome nature, perhaps. Curator: Fair enough. The lack of explicit imagery definitely allowed for multiple interpretations, which was partly its point. Consider that this print was made during a period of heightened interest in printmaking, specifically within the New York art scene. Galleries and museums pushed abstraction through shows like these, granting Vicente acclaim in doing so. Editor: Well, however the art world received it, I see something else too. Like in a weird way, the push and pull of color, form and non-form creates… something not just anxiety inducing, but kind of alive? Kind of beautiful in its own thorny way. You can’t look away! Curator: Precisely! Vicente’s 'Untitled' is a reminder that abstraction, even in its seemingly non-representational form, holds profound emotional and cultural significance. The bold choices of a once famed Spanish painter become so much more evocative under further reflection, and a lot more colorful to appreciate.