Carta celeste en amarillo n° 1 1953

Lolo Soldevilla painted Carta celeste en amarillo n° 1 with what looks like oil on canvas. You can tell she built the painting in layers, like any good cook knows to build flavors. The surface has a slight texture, not too thick, but enough to catch the light and keep the painting from feeling flat. The yellow background feels sunny, like a warm day, and it’s broken up by these different sized circles. Some are darker, some lighter, some almost disappear into the yellow. There’s something about the way they're arranged, not quite symmetrical, but balanced. And then, there are those little dots clustered together, like a mini constellation – the way they huddle together makes me think about how we look for patterns, for meaning, in the chaos of the universe. It puts me in mind of Hilma af Klint's work, or Agnes Martin’s quieter grids, but there’s a Cuban warmth to Soldevilla's palette. Ultimately, these paintings aren’t trying to give answers, just posing questions, and maybe that’s what makes them so endlessly interesting.