Six in Vermilion with Red in Red : April 1970 1970

Curator: Patrick Heron's "Six in Vermilion with Red in Red: April 1970"—talk about a title that tells you exactly what you're getting! It’s held here at the Tate. My first thought? This feels like the visual equivalent of a really good, slightly chaotic jam session. Editor: Absolutely. I'm immediately struck by the way Heron uses color to challenge spatial relationships. Red, a color historically linked with passion and revolution, dominates, yet the subtle shifts in tone create a dynamic tension. Curator: Right? The shapes seem to be dancing, or maybe even colliding. It's like Heron is exploring the push and pull of relationships through color. No hard edges, just a flowing conversation between the hues. Editor: And I see that conversation happening against the backdrop of 1970, a period marked by social upheaval and political turmoil. Does the intensity of the red reflect that era's unrest? Is the purple a subversive comment on the establishment? Curator: Hmm, that's a reading I hadn't considered. I was stuck on the pure visual pleasure of it all. But you're right, art never exists in a vacuum. Maybe that tension I sense is both aesthetic and societal. Editor: Precisely. This piece invites us to consider the interplay of art and life. Curator: I'm leaving here with a whole new appreciation for what "seeing red" can mean. Editor: And a renewed awareness of how art can mirror and critique the world around us.