Circe 1979

Will Barnet made Circe, using flat planes of color and simplified forms. It's this beautiful balancing act between representation and abstraction. There's something so captivating about the way Barnet uses color here, isn't there? The blues and blacks create a sense of depth and mystery, and the composition, enclosed within a circle, enhances the sense of a self-contained, magical world. I love how the surface feels smooth, almost like a print, with no visible brushstrokes. It's as if the image has emerged fully formed. It’s a very elegant piece of image making. Look at the way the figures are placed within the branches. The branches are rendered as simple, dark shapes, yet they perfectly frame the figures, creating a sense of intimacy and enclosure. Barnet reminds me a bit of Milton Avery. Both had an incredible knack for reducing forms to their essentials, and for creating these luminous, almost dreamlike scenes with such a light touch. But, you know, art's just one big conversation, right?