Atys 1978

Aurelie Nemours made "Atys" with rectangles of flat color separated by a precise white grid. I like to think of the painting process, not as making an image, but as a set of choices. What color next to what? How thick? How thin? With this piece, the first thing that strikes me is the way Nemours has dealt with the surface. The paint isn’t glossy, but it is flat, with hardly any texture. I think the way the colors sit next to each other, those blocks of pure red, yellow, blue, and black, make the whole thing vibrate. It’s so simple, but so alive! Look how the black rectangles sit like anchors, while the other colors push and pull. Nemours reduces painting to its most basic elements, but in doing so, she creates a complex conversation. Like a Mondrian, but with more heat.