B 183 1964

Tadasky created B 183 with a spray gun using a vibrant colour palette and an almost obsessive repetition of circular forms. The intensity of the red is compelling, though the spray technique gives a slightly hazy or blurred effect. The red is clean, but has an almost imperceptible bleeding of the black that makes the surface seem to vibrate. The execution looks quite simple, but there is a hyper-deliberate quality to it. I like the ambiguity; it is mechanical but deeply hand-made. The slight gradations around the edges feel like a halo or an eclipse. There’s something of Josef Albers’ preoccupation with colour here, only Albers was all about the square, while Tadasky goes for the circle. I think this piece is a reminder that the most powerful art often comes from setting strict parameters and working within them until something surprising happens.