Untitled 1969

Soledad Sevilla made this untitled painting using what looks like gouache or maybe tempera. The surface is a complex, all-over pattern of interlocking shapes and colors, like a puzzle. There's a repeated motif of curved forms, which are echoed and mirrored across the surface. I imagine Sevilla starting with a basic structure, then layering and adjusting the composition through trial and error. The orange creates a kind of matrix, which the purple and green shapes then sit within. I wonder what she was thinking about when she made it? Maybe she wanted to create an experience for the viewer, drawing us into this world of interlocking forms and colors, making a place for endless looking and discovery. I see connections to the work of other artists who explore pattern, rhythm, and repetition. Painters are always in conversation and exchange of ideas, even across time. Ultimately, painting is an embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty and allowing for multiple interpretations.