Untitled 

This untitled painting by Michel Carrade presents us with vertical bands of color. Even in abstraction, the vertical line carries a profound symbolic weight. Think back to ancient civilizations: standing stones, obelisks, the very architecture of temples and cathedrals, all reaching skyward, symbolizing aspiration, connection to the divine, and a reaching beyond the earthly realm. The colors themselves—red, green, blue—conjure elemental associations. Red, the color of blood and passion; green, of life and growth; and blue, of the sky and sea, suggestive of boundlessness. Consider, for instance, the recurring motif of verticality in Barnett Newman's "zip" paintings, or even the stripes in flags across nations, each a visual assertion of identity and shared experience. This simple band of color carries forward this history of symbolism, resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings in our modern context.