Harmony of Opposites 1986

Victor Pasmore made this painting, Harmony of Opposites, with dark paint on a light background, playing with geometric and organic shapes in a way that feels both composed and spontaneous. I imagine Pasmore, brush in hand, thinking, "How can I make these shapes talk to each other?" The forms, some sharp-edged, some soft and blurry, create a kind of visual rhythm. Look at that bold, branch-like form stretching across the middle – it feels like a gesture, a decisive movement. The paint is applied in layers, almost like he’s building up the image through a process of trial and error. Pasmore was part of a generation that was rethinking what painting could be, like Piet Mondrian, and this piece feels like a bridge between the abstract and the representational. It shows that artists are always in conversation with each other, challenging and inspiring new forms of expression.