It Happened Tomorrow 2004

Curator: Valerie Jaudon's painting, "It Happened Tomorrow," completed in 2004, offers a fascinating example of contemporary abstraction through a mesmerizing composition. What's your initial take? Editor: Immediately, the interwoven lines evoke a sense of intricate dance. The geometric elements almost feel like characters in a stylized ritual, something ancient and modern colliding. Curator: I find it interesting to consider how Jaudon engages with the legacy of pattern and decoration movements, while still very much operating within a contemporary art market shaped by different critical concerns. It subtly challenges the traditional hierarchy. Editor: Absolutely, the rhythmic repetition hints at textiles, perhaps tapestries from the past, yet the abstraction steers it clear of simple reproduction. There's a memory of craft but transformed into a personal visual language. That pale blue is also so striking. Curator: That particular blue lends itself to endless reproduction. It softens the potential harshness of pure geometry, making the work palatable to diverse audiences. Editor: Yet, if you focus, many elements of the lines curve back on each other, reflecting self-containment that hints at themes such as fate and circularity. The repeated arrowheads speak to movement but in very restrained pattern. The use of color to accentuate direction and guide one's eyes. Curator: And considering that Jaudon came into prominence during the 1970s, there is definitely the influence of feminism into design vocabulary where craft was looked at and re-evaluated, and even painting at large! Editor: Ultimately, for me, it is about memory—how forms resurface, repurposed, becoming whispers of something deeply rooted in our shared visual past. It invites us to consider the enduring power of basic shapes and pattern. Curator: I agree, her work demonstrates how these simple structures allow for an expression within an industry and environment of political movements and economic concerns. Jaudon, in particular, navigates this moment with striking effect.