Lice 1945

This oddly shaped painting, called Lice, was made by Carmelo Arden Quin. Look at the colour palette, how the pastel yellow almost vibrates next to the stark black lines. It’s as if the shapes are escaping the frame, pushing outwards! I’m really drawn to the texture of the blue rectangle. It has a kind of misty, sandy feel, a real contrast to the smooth, flat surfaces around it. I wonder if Quin built up the colour in layers, almost like he was building a wall, each layer adding to the depth. It reminds me of Frank Stella's shaped canvases, where the objectness of the painting becomes just as important as the image itself. Here, Quin isn't just painting an image, he is creating an object, a thing that exists in space. It's a playful conversation about what a painting can be!