Pool Water 1980

Curator: Looking at Mimmo Paladino's "Pool Water," I'm struck by its dreamlike quality. The floating forms feel like relics from a myth. Editor: It feels unsettling, in a way I can't immediately place. The scattered shapes and the somber face... a stark contrast. Curator: Consider the imagery: a stylized face, organic shapes, and linear elements. Paladino often mixes archaic symbols with modern sensibilities. The face itself evokes classical sculpture, yet the composition is very contemporary. Editor: Is it a critique, do you think, of classicism? Or an elegy? The placement of these forms feels almost deliberately disruptive. Curator: Perhaps it's neither, instead an exploration of how these symbols persist in our collective consciousness, their meanings shifting with time and context. This juxtaposition isn’t necessarily oppositional, but rather a dialogue. Editor: I see it now. It invites you to participate in that dialogue. Curator: Precisely, and it does so with a distinctive visual language. Editor: It's certainly given me a lot to consider about the cultural weight of images.