Blue-Green Painting 1948

Curator: Looking at Ad Reinhardt’s "Blue-Green Painting" from 1948, I’m struck by a sensation almost like sinking, or perhaps swimming in a very still pool. Editor: It’s visually quite calm, but I can’t help thinking about the labor involved in producing such uniform blocks of color. Look at the almost obsessive, hand-rendered, geometric structure! Curator: Obsessive is a strong word, but I see what you mean. There’s a kind of hypnotic repetition to the pattern, and I’d venture it is intended to guide the viewer’s meditative state of mind. It seems as if Reinhardt intended that it work that way with those cool acrylic paints he uses on canvas, with horizontal brushstrokes becoming visible under the careful layering of blue-green rectangles and blocks. Editor: The deliberate choice of those almost industrial blues and greens certainly downplays any immediate sense of personal expression, doesn't it? I can imagine that, at the time, Reinhardt’s artistic production was consciously working against more flamboyant approaches favored by artists during the Abstract Expressionist era and it is as if the artistic labour is self-effacing, becoming itself a meditation on consumption in the process of creating fine art for collectors. Curator: Indeed. There's a restraint that speaks volumes. I wouldn’t call it impersonal exactly—it has a particular…vibe. Those very particular blues and greens are somehow familiar, reminiscent of things I can’t quite grasp… Maybe that's because, for him, what was considered fine art during the '40s might have taken on qualities attributed now instead only towards folk art! What do you think? Editor: Yes, that resonates for sure, but it also makes me consider: what does the use of color say in his compositions, given his consistent explorations with materials? Perhaps he aimed to elevate mere color through labor. Curator: Well, whatever Reinhardt's intentions, this quiet painting definitely sticks with you, doesn't it? I think I feel calmer now. Editor: And I’m contemplating the subtle rebellions that underpin this aesthetic. It's a fitting piece of geometric abstraction to pause and consider in its sociopolitical and art historical context, and definitely well worth another view sometime.