Landscape 1920

Curator: Looking at this 1920 oil on canvas painting entitled "Landscape," by Georges Valmier, I'm struck by the boldness of his foray into geometric abstraction. Editor: It hits you, doesn’t it? The pureness of color… it’s so forthright. No messing about trying to mimic nature precisely. It's almost like a playground, colorful blocks re-imagining something. Curator: Valmier, situated in the wake of early Cubism, began moving towards abstraction in this period. Here, he dissects landscape conventions, rearranging elements according to a formal logic. He seeks essence rather than representation. Editor: Yes, absolutely! Look at how he teases the eye. Recognizable fragments lurking beneath these hard angles: tiny houses perched on planes, stylized sails… they are mirages that appear and vanish again into that gorgeous pastel palette. It has some echoes to a synthetic cubism approach. Curator: Right, those faint suggestions serve a dual function. On the one hand, they maintain a tenuous link to the observed world, acknowledging the painting's title. On the other, these vestigial references provide a framework for comprehending a revolutionary style that pushed painting into entirely new realms. Editor: Absolutely, a foot in both worlds. But what I love is its unwavering optimism! Like Valmier cracked open reality and rays of light and happiness beamed forth as simple shapes. A reminder that you can build something unexpected from anything, a feeling especially relevant perhaps in the wake of the first World War. Curator: Indeed. In a world rebuilding itself, an avant-garde artist sought out equally radical forms. Looking back, this painting acted almost as an optimistic herald of things to come in modern art's journey. Editor: What a joy to get to stand and chat a while with a picture that offers so much, more than a century on. It is not so often that we get the invitation!