Linear Development A 1970 - 1971

Curator: Victor Pasmore's Linear Development A presents itself as a rather unassuming print, wouldn't you agree? My first thought is "totem." Editor: It certainly has a primal quality. The stacked forms and simplified shapes evoke a sense of something ancient, perhaps ritualistic. I see hints of a figure—or perhaps an abstracted landscape? Curator: I’m struck by how Pasmore orchestrates such depth with so few elements. Those earthy tones contribute to the archaic feeling. Editor: Indeed. Circles, ovals, lines—fundamental forms, echoing cellular structures and astronomical bodies all at once. They are the primal emblems of continuity, aren't they? Curator: Symbols—a language we recognize even without understanding the syntax. The quiet power of suggestion. Editor: Precisely. This piece quietly speaks of enduring forms and structures, doesn't it?