Quartet 1961

Curator: Before us we have Jo Baer's "Quartet," painted in 1961 using acrylic. It is currently unlocated. Editor: Instantly, I'm struck by this almost child-like quality—like puzzle pieces refusing to quite fit. There is a quirky tension. Curator: The composition is intriguing. The interplay of sharp geometric forms against the soft colors, lilac with shades of a tangerine or muted gold, creates a dialogue between precision and ambiguity. It epitomizes geometric abstraction and explores a Modernist sensibility. Editor: I find myself wanting the green lines, those sharp bordering elements, to fully contain and define everything, but they dance just on the periphery. They remind me of safety tape marking the edges of something incomplete. Is that the feeling? Almost like stumbling upon a prototype, the precursor of some more expansive design language? Curator: Precisely! The structural organization reveals semiotic intentions. Each segment signifies modularity, pointing to both containment and unbounded space. Note how color plays a crucial role here, accentuating and disturbing the geometry. Editor: I’m fixated on this feeling. Like an aesthetic blueprint unearthed. It's bold yet withholding, experimental, raw but intentional. Curator: Consider its place in color-field painting of that era. We find Baer investigating relationships of hue, shape and their interactions with both negative space and, indeed, the painted frame. A vital, and challenging period! Editor: It provokes more questions than answers. Is this complete? Is this the right color combination? It makes the observer strangely proactive. Curator: This careful calibration makes Baer a standout among the Abstractionists. The artwork engages our perceptions. Editor: I agree. "Quartet", at first so deceptively simple, holds layer upon layer of formal and emotional consideration. An incomplete prototype for sure, a puzzle never solved—one worth puzzling over all the same.