20 November 1959 1959

Conrad Marca-Relli made this collage titled '20 November 1959' with paper and paint. Right away I see the process, the way he’s pieced together these paper shapes – it's like he's building a wall, or maybe deconstructing one. Look at the contrast of textures: the rough, bare canvas peeking through, versus the delicate, almost translucent paper fragments, each marked with these intense black blots. It’s not just about the visual; you can almost feel the layering, the tearing, the deliberate placement of each piece. I wonder if he planned it all out, or let the materials lead the way. That one tanned paper shape hanging by a thread, near the top left – is that a vase, or just an odd scrap? It’s so out of place, yet it’s also what gives the whole thing its peculiar rhythm. It reminds me a little bit of Schwitters, but more brutal, less refined. It feels like he's really wrestling with the material.