Sea Group 1980

Curator: Looking at Philip Guston's "Sea Group," what strikes you first? Editor: Chaos. A turbulent mass of forms struggling for space. What is this? Curator: It's an ink on paper work, part of his late period. The image size is roughly 815 by 1085 millimeters. I see a possible reference to the Cyclops, the mythical giant with a single eye. The image evokes these figures in the swirls at the base. Editor: Interesting, but I am more focused on the physical labor involved in creating that dense network of lines. It appears almost industrial in its repetition. Curator: Perhaps Guston is tapping into something primal, a shared visual language of threat. Editor: Maybe. Or he's just using simplified forms to reflect the post-industrial landscape of material overproduction he encountered. Curator: Well, no matter the intention, it certainly leaves a mark, doesn’t it? Editor: Indeed. A powerful testament to the complexities beneath the surface.