Untitled 

Curator: Looking at this "Untitled" piece by Adnan Coker, I'm immediately struck by the artist's masterful use of light and shadow. The composition creates this kind of liminal space, like a gateway. Editor: I see what you mean, there's an undeniably mysterious quality. However, my initial impression is of the artwork's pure formal structure and the potential this offers us to appreciate Coker's unique manipulation of pigment. We have these subtle graduations of color achieved via rigorous artistic practice. I'm especially drawn to the layering of paint that results in the image’s visual texture. How might the social context or production methods have influenced this piece, if it can be determined? Curator: Given the historical period when hard-edge painting took hold, I imagine the work of art and artistic decisions by Coker took hold in light of a society eager to embrace modernity. This interest would have made geometric form so fascinating. These very qualities would also be relevant to museum and gallery selection and exhibition. What is created, and especially how it is showcased, goes hand-in-hand. Editor: Agreed. Let's dive deeper into that connection. The stark contrasts and clean lines that dominate could be seen as reflecting the industrialized world, yet the subtle tonal shifts reveal the artist’s meticulous craftsmanship, even the physical demands that are related to how these kinds of gradations occur on canvas. I find that particularly resonant. Curator: Yes, and what about how the materials themselves shaped the message? If Coker employed acrylics versus oils, it affects the flatness, the immediacy, and how quickly it dries. All of this will determine the kind of artistic work the image performs for a wide-eyed public ready to consume. Editor: That’s right! It pushes me to think of other avenues, as well, about how abstraction offered new possibilities to an artist situated within political contexts. I would be interested to see Coker's other pieces to think of whether abstraction can offer unique kinds of social commentary that differ across national lines. Curator: It is an intriguing avenue, thinking about reception within a globalized society. I am especially fond of your insight concerning material texture. Editor: And I your illumination of the role that geometric form would play in hard-edge-inspired social imaginaries!