Dimensions: support: 327 x 457 mm frame: 488 x 618 x 81 mm
Copyright: © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2014 | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This painting, simply titled "Paris" by Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, looks like a city dissolving into abstraction. What strikes me is how the grid-like structure seems to both build up and break down the urban landscape. What do you make of it? Curator: For me, it's compelling to think about the actual production of this image, the canvas stretched, the mixing of pigments, the physical act of applying the paint. Consider the conditions of artistic labor during the mid-20th century, the availability of materials, the societal value placed on "high art" versus craft. How does understanding these factors change your perspective? Editor: That makes me consider the repeated motifs not just as representation, but as evidence of the artist's hand and process. Thanks, I hadn't considered the labor so explicitly. Curator: Exactly! It encourages us to look beyond just the image and consider the materiality of art making.
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Vieira da Silva made this painting while she was living in Paris. She had recently returned to the city after a period of exile in Portugal and Brazil during the Second World War. Her paintings often resemble mazes or cities seen from above. The web of lines here suggests what one critic called her ‘absorption in space’. Rather than portraying a particular scene, it appears to capture the creative energy that she found in Paris. Gallery label, July 2019
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