Untitled 1977

Editor: Looking at Soledad Sevilla’s "Untitled" from 1977, with its interweaving of violet squares and parallel orange and peach lines, I’m struck by the seeming simplicity that borders on something almost dizzying. How would you unpack this visually complex work? Curator: It is important to consider Sevilla’s engagement with the materials and the making process here. Note how the precise geometric lines, the application of paint – probably very flat and even – suggests an interest in the labor involved in the production of minimalist art. We can't ignore that the repeated pattern evokes a woven textile. What effect does that evoke? Editor: I guess that weaving idea brings in associations with craft and maybe disrupts the typical hierarchy of fine art versus decorative art? Curator: Precisely! And the fact that it’s a painting, carefully constructed, rather than an actual textile makes us think about the deliberate choices and challenges the artist made during its creation. Consider too, how Minimalism, often seen as austere and removed, becomes something softer, more approachable here because of these craft-like allusions. Are those allusions successful, do you think? Editor: Yes, it invites a closer look, I think. It's almost daring in its bold color choices, making me wonder about how ideas of mass production versus craft affected its production and reception during the 70s in Spain. I mean, where was it exhibited, who was buying it? Curator: Exactly, the materials and the social context can help reveal how these works played into shifting artistic hierarchies and socioeconomic conditions of its time. These choices make a powerful statement. Editor: I now view this artwork as far more than a set of intersecting lines and colored squares, it is an important piece to explore themes related to labor and production that help define Soledad Sevilla's work. Curator: Yes, by focusing on the how and the why, we have a much more layered experience of Soledad Sevilla’s "Untitled".