Négal 1943

Carmelo Arden Quin made this painting, Négal, with hard edges and flat colors, in a style that's both geometric and kind of playful. Looking at this, I can imagine Quin carefully mapping out each shape, considering how the colors would bounce off each other. What was he thinking as he put that salmon-pink rectangle next to that emerald-green square? The painting is about shape and colour, not so much about expression. What interests me here is the physical presence of the paint, how it sits on the canvas, almost like pieces of colored paper cut out and arranged. You could say that the painting doesn't just represent an idea, it embodies it. It reminds me a bit of Mondrian or maybe even some early Stella, but with its own unique vibe. Artists are always talking to each other, you know? This piece is part of an ongoing conversation. It's a conversation that keeps evolving, open to endless interpretations, and that’s what makes painting so alive.