Gevouwen vorm 1986

Curator: Standing before us is Maria van Elk’s “Gevouwen vorm” from 1986. Van Elk often worked with mixed-media collage, and this piece is exemplary of her explorations within geometric abstraction. Editor: My first thought? Peaceful, almost meditative. The composition is so simple, a kind of irregular octagon floating on what seems to be layered rice paper. It reminds me of origami gone rogue. Curator: Precisely! There's a careful consideration of materiality at play here. The delicate texture of the paper contrasts subtly with the flat plane of color. Considering the political landscape of the 80s, it begs the question, how does abstraction become a form of resistance or commentary? Editor: Ooh, I love that question! Because on the surface, it’s just shapes, right? But maybe the very act of reducing something to its essence, stripping away the noise, becomes a statement in itself. Plus, that bold magenta… it's a silent scream in a whisper-quiet composition. Curator: That's a potent reading. We might consider the socio-political environment, the prevailing minimalist aesthetics, and perhaps the artist’s own identity within that context. It moves beyond the personal into broader cultural narratives. Editor: And maybe she was just playing with shapes! Seriously, there's a real joy in the unexpected angles, the off-kilter symmetry. The way the white planes almost 'fold' underneath, suggesting depth where there isn't any… it’s pure visual poetry. I can almost feel the artist figuring things out, experimenting, letting the materials speak. Curator: I think that impulse is present, and it intersects beautifully with the more formal art historical aspects. This piece really does invite dialogue across different ways of seeing and interpreting art. Editor: Absolutely. You can get lost in the theory, but you can also just get lost in the quiet beauty of it all. I like that it makes room for both.