Untitled 1970

Editor: So, here we have an "Untitled" acrylic on canvas by Edward Avedisian from 1970. I'm struck by how chaotic, yet somehow joyful, the composition feels. It’s like controlled explosions of color on a cotton-candy dreamscape. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Chaotic joy – I love that! It's like Avedisian grabbed pure emotion and splattered it across the canvas. I'm immediately drawn to the texture, the sheer materiality of the paint. You can almost feel him building up these vibrant layers, like a painterly excavation. And look how he teases us with these nearly-geometric shapes… rectangles swimming in this ocean of expressive gesture. I see echoes of color field painting mixed with a kind of Fauvist energy. Do you feel that tension too, between structure and spontaneity? Editor: Definitely. It's not quite as… deliberate as some color field works, is it? More intuitive? Curator: Exactly! He's wrestling with the big questions of abstraction – color, form, and feeling – but in this wonderfully messy, human way. It feels so much of its time. The '70s were such a…vibey moment. One can’t help but wonder what the artist wanted us to feel by observing at those explosions. Editor: It makes me want to start flinging paint myself, in a good way. It's freeing. Curator: Indeed. And perhaps that’s Avedisian's gift to us: permission to embrace the delightful messiness of existence, one splattered brushstroke at a time. It is almost akin to listening to rock n roll with reckless abandonment in your youth. It breaks the cycle of constraints. Editor: That’s a great takeaway. I think I get it a bit more now – it’s not just about pretty colors, it’s about… breaking free. Thanks for the insight!