Burnt Norton No 1 1984

Editor: This is Sean Scully's "Burnt Norton No 1," currently in the Tate collection. It appears to be a print of some kind. What strikes me is the contrast between the cool horizontal lines on the left and the busy, almost woven texture on the right. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a direct commentary on power structures embedded within seemingly abstract forms. Scully, working in a tradition dominated by male abstract expressionists, uses the grid – often interpreted as a symbol of rational, masculine control – and disrupts it. Editor: Disrupts it how? Curator: The hand-drawn lines, the imperfect grids, and the textures introduce a human element, a vulnerability. Could this be a subtle critique of the rigid systems that marginalize and exclude? How does its deliberate imperfection resonate with you? Editor: I hadn't considered it that way, but the idea of a subtle protest against rigid structures makes a lot of sense to me now. Curator: Exactly, art has a voice. It can become activism.