Untitled 1959

Antonio Asis made this untitled piece, of interlocking black and white circles, and it feels like pure process. I mean, look at how those shapes butt up against each other, creating little pockets of optical buzz. The stark contrast between the black and white feels almost aggressive, like a dare. It’s as if Asis set out to explore the simplest of forms to create complexity and tension, letting the hand, mind and eye lead the way. I keep coming back to the way the circles intersect and create these odd, almost architectural structures. You can almost feel the hand drawing each line, building a whole world out of simple repetition. It reminds me a little of Bridget Riley, but with a more raw, handmade energy. It shows how repetition can become something new, something alive.