Untitled 1995

This 'Untitled' piece by Enrico Castellani is, well, materially speaking, a funny thing: an almost-nothing, made with almost-nothing, that adds up to something kind of great. What gets me is the surface. It's this super subtle play of light and shadow, all thanks to these tiny, regular protrusions. They remind me of braille, a language you experience through touch, but here, it’s all visual. The light skims across, catching some bumps, leaving others in shadow. I think the process is the point. It’s like he’s not trying to 'express' anything, but rather setting up a system and letting it run. It's a bit like Agnes Martin, but where she used a grid, Castellani uses these dimensional points. It makes you think about what a painting *is*. Is it an illusion, a window? Or is it just a surface, doing its own thing?