M-4-66 1966

Conrad Marca-Relli made "M-4-66," a collage on canvas, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. It’s a painting that feels like a puzzle, or maybe even a broken machine, full of dark, heavy shapes held within a square. What strikes me is how physical this piece is. You can see the layers, the textures, and the way Marca-Relli built it up, almost like he was constructing a building. The colours are moody and earthy. There's a real tension between the dark, dominant circle and the lighter ground it sits on. Look at the lower centre where the collage elements intersect, how these lines suggest not just structure, but also fragility. Marca-Relli’s use of collage reminds me of early cubist works by Picasso and Braque, although there’s an added sense of monumentality here. Ultimately, it's a painting that embraces uncertainty and leaves plenty of room for our own interpretations.