Tournoi 1996

Aurelie Nemours made this painting, "Tournoi," with, what looks like, acrylic paint and a very steady hand. Look how flat and opaque the colors are. The painting consists of three squares in orange, blue and black. The orange bleeds, I mean, vibrates out from behind the steely blue and the impenetrable black at the center. It's like a set of russian dolls, but each one is a different color that makes you feel something different. Do you think Nemours did that on purpose? I like that you can see the material of the painting, it feels very present. I think of Josef Albers when I look at this. He played with squares as well, and color, in a way that was very simple. But simple is hard! It's harder than it looks. Nemours makes you think about what she thought about, but it's also about what you think about. Art is a conversation like that.