Untitled 1965

Rodolfo Arico made this untitled piece using what looks like pencil and paint, and with a process rooted in geometry and gesture. The grid, drawn in pale blue, is like a map or a framework, but then these curving shapes come in, breaking that order. Look at the yellow and brown area; it’s built up with these tiny, repetitive marks that create this shimmering surface. It almost feels like the texture of hair, or the weft of a woven fabric. I love how the hard lines of the grid play against these looser, more organic forms. The pale white shapes on the other hand are flat and smooth. This contrast in texture and color is not just formal but emotional; it’s like the painting is having a conversation with itself about control and freedom. It reminds me a bit of some of the paintings of Agnes Martin, which combine hard-edged abstraction with a kind of meditative, hand-made quality. For me, this piece is about how art embraces the tension between structure and improvisation.