Untitled [plate XXIII] 1958

Curator: Looking at this artwork, Untitled [plate XXIII] created by Joan Miró in 1958, one immediately notices the stark simplicity of the shapes against the negative space. The work consists of what appears to be elementary geometric shapes. Editor: It feels whimsical and almost primal to me. A large blue circle with small black dashes, a slender red curve that connects to a banana-shaped crescent. There is also a sort of haloed egg-like shape in the bottom right corner of the composition, its like Miró has made these abstract icons for his own personal mythology. Curator: Exactly! And this print very much embodies his experimentation with biomorphic forms. His abstraction always seemed connected to something organic, wouldn’t you say? Editor: I agree, but is it a connection stemming from genuine innocence, or rather a conscious choice? During this period, many artists aimed to distance themselves from representational forms as a mode of engaging with the trauma of war. How complicit was Miró within that conversation of artistic rebellion? Curator: Perhaps. Considering Miró's oeuvre in the fifties, it can be said that this abstract expressionism helped push towards pure form, while at the same time being rooted in material culture of printed artworks available at the time, thus making art less bourgeois and much more widely accessible, a democratic approach in a very socially and politically volatile period. Editor: I suppose the power in these basic symbols stems from their ambiguity and lack of constraints, allowing audiences to apply their interpretations shaped by society's constraints, so we can reflect on it and learn something new each time. Curator: True, each interaction breathes new context into these symbols as society itself changes. That’s a solid observation, because a purely formal reading might be too… constricting. Editor: Yes! The painting remains dynamic. The more history it accrues, the deeper the engagement, until its finality exists beyond the canvas. Curator: A perfect thought to leave our listeners with!