Quadratisch 

Curator: This piece is called "Quadratisch" by Joe Goode. It incorporates acrylic paint and ink, with visible impasto effects. Editor: It feels dreamy, almost ethereally quiet. The lavender and peach hues evoke a sense of calm, though there's also a definite melancholy about it. The little squares clustered in the lower corner prevent it from feeling *too* calming, though. Curator: Goode’s process here is interesting; he combines fairly traditional landscape painting with what could be seen as mass-produced or even disposable items - those little squares - pasted directly onto the canvas. It is really intriguing, juxtaposing the painterly surface with something that suggests photo reproductions or commercial prints. It speaks volumes to how he viewed artistic production. Editor: That juxtaposition makes me think about representation and memory. The dreamy background is an idealized space. What is that? Some sort of emotional interior? And the squares with pale skies, are they distorted versions of a tangible external world crashing in? Or fading? It's interesting because this work invites questions of personal identity and how it shifts depending on its location relative to material things. Curator: Precisely. And it brings up the complex dialogue of mass media impacting fine arts practices, reflecting the constant shifting between traditional techniques and commercial techniques in a rapidly evolving society. His choice of layering different media underscores that artistic labor can draw influence from very contrasting industries and sources. Editor: Absolutely. It speaks to the experience of modernity; the fragmentation and destabilization that defines our historical moment. This dialogue between ethereal space and material reality invites introspection, prompting us to consider how larger political structures frame self-conception. I keep thinking how those clustered squares look trapped! Curator: Well said. In a way, “Quadratisch” operates like a material investigation of our perceptions. The blend of artistic methods reflects the intersection of experience in art making and production itself, challenging the separation of art from craft in the world. Editor: I'm taking away the sense that art has an agency of its own—to capture moments of societal unease within aesthetic spaces where conversations on political and social anxiety can actually unfold.