Folded Paper Clip III 1975

Editor: Richard Smith’s "Folded Paper Clip III" is a mixed media piece. I’m struck by how the colors evoke a sort of faded memory. What cultural symbols do you see at play? Curator: The repeated, almost mechanical, diagonal lines suggest a deliberate construction, a weaving together. But what are they trying to hold? Perhaps the looser, brushstroke areas at the top are the intangible thoughts. Editor: So the grid grounds the ephemeral? Curator: Precisely. The symbolic language is about containment, about the efforts we make to solidify our thoughts. Where do you think the artist stands on the possibility of achieving this? Editor: Interesting. I see the tension between the organic and the geometric now. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. It’s a potent exploration of thought and form.