Black and Blue 3 2011

Cesar Paternosto made this geometric painting, titled "Black and Blue 3", at an unknown date, probably with acrylic on canvas. Look how the off-whites create a subtle grid. It's so quiet! I wonder what Cesar was thinking when he made this? Perhaps something about the relationship between form and emptiness? I can imagine the careful process of layering and refining, trying to create a harmonious balance. There’s this blue rectangle, like a flattened-out aquamarine, and then this small black vertical. I think of painters like Agnes Martin and Ellsworth Kelly, and their commitment to simplicity, and to the idea that the artwork is a world unto itself. It's a calm, slow kind of looking that feels philosophical, almost like a meditation. These artists are all in conversation with each other, riffing off the same notes, and pushing painting in new directions. Each gesture, each color choice, is a new way of seeing and thinking.