Cercle rouge et noir 1980

Editor: This is "Cercle rouge et noir" by Antonio Asis, created in 1980 using acrylic paint. The nine circles arranged on the canvas create such a stark, almost clinical feel. The colors, just black, red, and white, contribute to this sterile atmosphere. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The clinical feel, as you put it, is very interesting. I see it less as sterile and more as a kind of visual code. Circles, throughout history, have represented wholeness, infinity, the cosmos. Red is often linked to passion, vitality, warning; black to the unknown, power, elegance. So, we have these loaded symbols presented in a grid. What does that juxtaposition suggest? Editor: A visual code...maybe it’s a set of instructions? A warning perhaps? The rigid format makes it seem intentional. Curator: Exactly. Think of road signs or diagrams. The simplicity invites interpretation, almost like a Rorschach test. The colors and shapes have deep roots in our collective consciousness, beyond just aesthetics. Is this purely abstract, or is Asis commenting on how we process visual information? What is this form communicating? Editor: So, it's not just about the pleasing geometric shapes; the artist is intentionally playing with symbols that evoke deeper feelings. Is the black and red an attempt at a disruptive, forceful symbol? Curator: Precisely. By presenting these fundamental symbols in such a clean, repetitive way, Asis forces us to confront their inherent power. The arrangement also calls attention to how easily a symbol or a code can lose all relation to meaning. Editor: That makes so much sense. I initially saw just shapes and colors, but it's really a system of cultural communication he is tapping into. Thanks for expanding my perception! Curator: My pleasure! It's rewarding to unpack the layers beneath seemingly simple forms. There is so much beyond just the first glance!