Concerto 1944

Sue Fuller created ‘Concerto’ during an era where women artists often navigated a male-dominated art world. Fuller's work emerges from a time of significant social change in the United States, amid the post-war boom and concurrent struggles for civil rights. Here, Fuller uses an abstract visual language to explore themes of harmony and dissonance. Look at the ways she uses intersecting lines and layering to evoke a sense of depth and movement. In her own words, she wanted to evoke the sense of something "suspended," but to also “give the illusion of an image continuing beyond the surface.” As a woman working in abstraction, Fuller perhaps challenges conventional representation, choosing to create her own visual vocabulary. The emotional intensity of the work invites us to reflect on personal experiences of tension and resolution, inviting us to contemplate how we create harmony from chaotic elements.