No. 77 1958

Curator: Standing before us is "No. 77" by Hans Hartung, currently residing in the Tate Collections. Editor: It feels like a storm brewing, all that frantic energy trapped in a very controlled shape. Like a contained chaos. Curator: Hartung was deeply involved in the Tachisme movement, embracing spontaneity and gesture. His work, often characterized by abstract expressionism, challenges traditional notions of form. This piece reflects his interest in raw, uninhibited mark-making. Editor: Absolutely, this looks like the kind of art they didn't want you making, if you catch my drift. This raw simplicity is probably loaded with radical intent. Curator: It's fascinating how his artistic journey took him through periods of figuration before he fully embraced abstraction. I think it is the product of social turmoil and the search for new modes of expression in a rapidly changing world. Editor: I suppose art, like a bad dream, can reflect more than it means to.