Summand-Konstruktion D 1974

Camille Graeser made this painting, Summand-Konstruktion D, with what looks like acrylic paint, and a super steady hand, or maybe tape, to get those edges so sharp. There’s something about the way these colors butt up against each other that feels both calming and, strangely, a little unsettling. It’s all flat, so you get this sense of pure color, pure shape, and pure…idea. Check out how the turquoise square sits within that deep burgundy field. It’s like a window, but to where? I feel a bit like those blocks of color are floating, and the burgundy isn't so much a background as another shape with its own weight and presence. It makes me think of Josef Albers, another color guy, but where Albers was all about the interaction of colors, this feels more like each color is doing its own thing. It’s a quiet painting, but it hums.