Untitled (Polychrome Bar) 1970

This is an "Untitled (Polychrome Bar)" made by Andre Cadere. I like that his process begins with a readymade object, a wooden rod, but he personalizes it with these hand-painted bands. It's about geometry meeting the human touch. Cadere's bars are so direct, yet so clever. The turquoise background is smooth, almost like it’s been lacquered. This acts as a foil to the handmade stripes of color; red, yellow, green, and brown that look like they've been applied directly to the wooden bar with a small brush. Each stripe is slightly irregular, giving the whole thing a rhythm that's both precise and a little off-kilter. The monochrome bar makes me think of a Brancusi sculpture, simple and elegant, yet it also pushes the boundaries of what a sculpture can be. Cadere’s bars are like paintings in three dimensions. Art is an ongoing conversation, each artist building on what came before, while throwing something new into the mix.