L'oggetto tenebroso di Paolo Uccello 1970

Rodolfo Aricò's "L'oggetto tenebroso di Paolo Uccello" is an object of quiet contemplation, exploring a limited colour palette. It seems Aricò is interested in artmaking as a slow process of layering and adjustment. The colours here are so muted, so similar, that it's hard to tell where one ends and another begins, which gives the painting an intense interiority. Look closely, and you'll find that the surfaces aren't completely flat; there are slight variations in texture. The paint application seems thin, almost translucent in places. It’s like Aricò is inviting us to slow down, to look more deeply. See how the rounded edges contrast with the sharper angles, creating a subtle tension? There is a strong kinship between this painting and the work of someone like Mark Rothko. But where Rothko is about expansiveness, Aricò is about compression, the darkness of interior space. Ultimately, this is a painting about nuance, and a reminder that art is often at its most powerful when it resists easy answers.