Untitled 1954

Curator: We're looking at a mixed-media collage by Lolo Soldevilla, created in 1954. The work is an untitled piece that sits within the Concrete Art movement. Editor: My first impression is that of a carefully orchestrated visual exercise. The juxtaposition of basic shapes against a stark background exudes an almost scientific detachment. There is something simultaneously playful and clinical in the use of color and form. Curator: Indeed, Soldevilla's embrace of geometric abstraction, typical of neo-plasticism, encourages us to examine the formal relationships at play. Consider the arrangement of the shapes, the tension created by their asymmetrical distribution, and the contrast between the textured, seemingly aged geometric forms and the flatness of the background. The negative space functions as actively as the shapes themselves. Editor: Precisely! The collage, comprised of assorted, probably repurposed materials, hints at a resourceful process. Were these found papers? Scraps from a printing shop perhaps? It’s hard not to consider what such artistic decisions might indicate about Soldevilla's socio-economic context, and maybe a statement against the preciousness often associated with traditional art materials. Curator: An intriguing consideration. The flatness subverts the illusion of depth and invites contemplation on the very essence of surface and support. What, then, does the interplay of the composition and surface articulate, when the surface serves to assert that the pictorial space is non-mimetic and self-contained? The rough-edged assemblage of materials gives it that feel for sure. Editor: It makes me ponder about production too. Was this made for a market, or a radical departure from art as product and commodification? By utilizing what's at hand, she’s perhaps also offering a comment on value, turning mundane materials into something conceptually rich. Curator: Fascinating thought! This returns us to how her meticulous arrangements of shape and color reflect Soldevilla’s adherence to abstraction, removing any dependence on conventional symbolic associations. Instead, Soldevilla invites us to construct meaning based purely on formal elements. Editor: Right, which in turns reflects abstraction's larger aims, perhaps - a move away from traditional subject matter and methods. But that turn towards geometry shouldn't overshadow what this object signifies as handmade through modest labor. It exists beyond pure abstraction too. Curator: I concur; it transcends pure formalism through its physical presence. Editor: I leave this conversation impressed with her ingenious use of color and composition; it is an engaging dance between geometry and material.