O banho turco 1971

Editor: Julio Pomar’s “O banho turco,” or "The Turkish Bath," from 1971, is an acrylic painting. The canvas is predominantly a bright, bold blue, on which geometric shapes in various colours float, almost like...puzzle pieces? It gives me a feeling of organized chaos. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, the title "Turkish Bath" immediately evokes the visual traditions of the hammam, a place of social cleansing and purification. Though abstract, consider the cultural memory Pomar may be playing with here. Do you see any of the symbolism associated with such a space echoed in the shapes or colours he’s chosen? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it like that! The shapes don’t immediately resemble people bathing, but maybe the floating forms represent bodies in water, fragmented and abstract? Curator: Precisely. It might not be a direct depiction, but rather an evocation of the *idea* of the Turkish bath. Think about how colour itself can carry meaning. The dominant blue, a hue often associated with tranquility, is here energized by dynamic shapes. Does the painting strike you as tranquil? Or is there something more dissonant at play? Editor: It’s not very tranquil... the way the shapes overlap and interrupt each other creates some tension. I see your point! It's almost as if he’s challenging that tranquil association, even within the supposed harmony of a bathing ritual. Curator: The history of abstraction often pushes against established visual languages and meanings. We need to look beneath the surface, beyond the shapes and colours, to the cultural roots from which these visual cues emerge, and how the artist uses (or even subverts) that lineage. Editor: It's fascinating how an abstract piece can be loaded with so much cultural weight, once you start unpacking the symbols. I'll never look at abstract art the same way again. Curator: And hopefully, that new perspective offers endless interpretative possibilities.