Deno (Les triangles de Baertling) 1961

Curator: This vibrant image is titled "Deno (Les triangles de Baertling)," painted in 1961 by Olle Baertling. Immediately striking, wouldn't you say? Editor: Yes, I'm getting a serious retro-futuristic vibe. It's like someone imagined what "modern art" would look like from the perspective of the early jet age, with these dynamic diagonals sliced through space! Curator: Precisely. Baertling was a key figure in what's called Hard-edge painting, related to movements like Neo-Plasticism and Constructivism. Think Mondrian, but… cranked up a notch. You see those intensely saturated fields of colour bounded by those razor-sharp black lines. It’s very intentional, and daring. Editor: Intentional, yes, and definitely bold. There’s no room for interpretation in the lines, is there? Every angle is so definite. I can't help thinking about the social context, though; the 60's were this optimistic, upward-moving, colorful time—like pop art—but with those stark lines it's as though Baertling anticipated things possibly taking a dark turn. Curator: That's interesting—a shadow lurking behind the bright exterior? He actually referred to his approach as “open form,” aiming to create a feeling of limitlessness, colours and shapes radiating out beyond the edges of the canvas and the conventional art. So there's an openness as it breaks boundaries within space that gives that effect you picked up on. It’s certainly a challenge to the concept of a painting being bound in a rectangular frame! Editor: It certainly breaks free. I like how you pointed out that aspect of boundlessness since my initial thought of the black edging was a boundary. Seeing that contrast gave me a deeper sense of the impact this artwork made. Curator: I'm so glad to hear. For me, this piece sparks thoughts about the joy of pure, unadulterated color—an invitation, perhaps, to step outside prescribed boundaries. Editor: For me, it leaves me pondering about how an era's hope and potential shadow of dread might shape something like a set of shapes, forever bound on canvas in bright boldness and looming, yet restrained edges.