Parasol 1964

Curator: "Parasol," dating back to 1964, and brought to life with acrylic and impasto by Samuel Buri. What do you make of it? Editor: I see a joyous explosion. It's as though the umbrella is trying to contain a garden, or perhaps release it! Curator: An astute observation! Umbrellas themselves are rife with meaning, right? Protection, shelter from storms… here it feels almost like a stylized architectural blueprint, almost like an aerial perspective, too. Editor: Precisely! And look at how Buri contrasts geometric shapes with what could be flowers or trees. It reads to me as a meditation on order and chaos, containment versus wildness, a duality we often impose on landscapes. Curator: Absolutely, but consider the context, too. Buri worked in an abstract-expressionist style, turning traditional landscape paintings upside down. It's a bit like a city seen through kaleidoscope glasses. Are we witnessing the dismantling of artistic convention? Editor: Definitely. Notice the almost child-like quality to the execution. I’d hazard that there is a subversion of traditional authority embedded here. Look at how the lines are free and bold, challenging expected patterns of perspective. Is this Buri saying, "Let’s liberate painting, let's find its primal voice again?” Curator: Ah, that’s very insightful; painting finding its primal voice – there’s an invitation to something primal here, definitely! And you’ve spotted the way abstraction invites everyone in. Anyone who can see anything in this could potentially be invited. Editor: It pulls on your curiosity, doesn't it? For all its deconstruction, you still search for form in the midst of a joyful freedom. Curator: I must say this piece continues to fascinate me - how the mundane (an umbrella!) turns into something complex, something that allows us to experience both order and chaos! Editor: It truly is a vibrant paradox, isn't it? A shelter exposing more than it covers up.