Untitled 

Editor: At first glance, the artwork strikes me as boldly unsettling. It has a primal rawness. Curator: Indeed. Here we have an Untitled mixed-media painting by Jean-Michel Atlan, associated with the Art Informel movement. Notice the raw, almost aggressive application of the medium. It resists any easy reading. Editor: I'm particularly drawn to the tactile nature of it, and its grounding within materiality. What sort of materials might he have used? Curator: Experts have noted Atlan's blending of oil paint with various binders—wax, casein—even household substances to create unique textures and densities. We could describe that as a material engagement with texture, even. Editor: Fascinating. And those contrasting areas of impasto and thinner washes must give the piece quite a haptic presence in person. Is this perhaps, as art informal aimed for, an active engagement against traditional notions of beauty? Curator: Certainly, this absence of prescribed forms directs our gaze inward. It engages phenomenological being more broadly in a sensorial, experiential manner. Semiotically, consider how the color interplay subverts representation. The red acts more as a signifier of…signification itself than any stable signified concept. Editor: Yes, rather than conventional modes of depiction, Atlan exposes process through these raw and active juxtapositions within form, media, and colouration. I would argue the materiality is an exploration into being’s foundations. We should discuss the socio-political contexts of it, as Art Informel emerged within post-war Europe during economic depression where these more unconventional production methods reflect constraints around availability of classic resources Curator: Interesting. Viewed through a philosophical lens, consider Atlan's rejection of traditional artistic standards which positions the viewer not as a passive recipient, but rather in dialogue with the work, prompting critical engagement with one’s perceptual habits. Editor: Thank you for directing the engagement with this very tactile piece, focusing on how this exploration within material abstraction allows for a multi-sensory connection with it. Curator: My pleasure, and I think focusing on its deeper symbolic language has granted an enriching point of engagement and a fuller understanding.