Transchromie (from the exhibition “Cruz-Diez. Cinq propositions sur la couleur”) 1969

Editor: Here we have Carlos Cruz-Diez's "Transchromie," an acrylic on site-specific installation from 1969. It strikes me as both incredibly simple in its form, just these colored stripes, and yet surprisingly complex in how the colors interact and shift depending on your vantage point. How do you interpret this work from a formal perspective? Curator: The formal power resides precisely in that apparent simplicity. Notice how Cruz-Diez uses seriality - the repetition of similar vertical planes - to create a dynamic field. The work isn't just about individual colors, but their relationships, their modulations as light passes through. The overlapping of these planes results in new chromatic combinations, perceived differently at every angle. Editor: So it's less about what the colors *are* and more about what they *do*? Like color as an active agent? Curator: Precisely! Cruz-Diez dismantles the traditional understanding of color as a static element. The form enables color to become event, an experience, a constantly evolving phenomenon dependent on the observer's position and the play of light. Look at how the rigid geometric structure contrasts with the ephemeral, almost ethereal quality of the light and color. This juxtaposition creates a perceptual tension. Editor: I see it now – it's almost like he’s taken painting off the canvas and put it into three dimensions, making it something you walk through. It changes as you move, becoming a temporal experience, not just a visual one. Curator: Exactly. By deconstructing color in this way, Cruz-Diez invites us to actively participate in the creation of the artwork. What initially appears as a simple arrangement of colored planes transforms into a dynamic and multifaceted environment. Editor: This experience completely altered my assumptions. Thanks for unpacking the formal mechanics of its dynamism! Curator: My pleasure. Seeing is more than just looking, it is active exploration.