Untitled 1995

Curator: Here we have Mia Westerlund Roosen's "Untitled" from 1995, an ink drawing and print on paper. What's your initial take on this work? Editor: Well, immediately it strikes me as explosive, but also strangely contained. It's like a chaotic burst of energy that's somehow been placed on a tiny stage. Does that make sense? Curator: It does. From a material perspective, you're seeing ink behaving in ways that can be both controlled and spontaneous, thanks to the printing process on paper. Roosen is known for her sculptural work, often massive in scale and using materials like concrete and rubber. How might this print connect to that? Editor: Perhaps it's a study for something larger, a way of testing out textures or forms on a smaller scale before committing to the industrial materials? It feels very gestural, almost violent, but in a beautiful, disciplined way. It's funny—like the artist gave anger a very chic haircut. Curator: Indeed. Consider how the lines themselves seem both precise and accidental. The relationship between the mark-making and the implied form is intriguing. We could talk about the tools Roosen might have employed, her chosen inks, the very physical act of printing... This could have involved rolling ink, blotting, various means of layering ink to create a depth or texture... Editor: Or maybe, it's a minimalist expression of the feeling you get right before you accidentally spill coffee all over a white tablecloth? The little splatters certainly enhance that feeling, as if the entire experience has gone rogue, creating its own map on pristine whiteness! Curator: And what’s fascinating is that that map is also reproducible, thanks to it being a print. We think of prints as multiples. Suddenly the gesture is not unique but repeated and shared. Editor: Which sort of turns the 'explosion' on its head! It makes me think that maybe it isn't an emotional outburst at all, but instead an interesting contemplation about reproduction in the post-industrial age. It gets me thinking a lot of feelings about distribution of artistic intention. Curator: So, reflecting, we see this “Untitled” piece inviting contemplation on process, scale, and expression. Editor: Absolutely, It has the fascinating, contrasting characteristics of containing uncontainable form! Thanks!