Untitled 

Editor: So this "Untitled" painting, by Michel Carrade, appears to be acrylic on canvas, and strikes me as wonderfully optimistic, actually. The bold stripes remind me a little of…well, bright signals on a hazy morning. What do you see in it? Curator: It's true; these stripes, this vibrant play of colours, definitely evoke a feeling of optimism, perhaps even a quiet sort of joy. It tickles my brain in much the same way those mid-century modern designs used to make me feel… do you see how the artist has managed to create a sense of depth and movement using only colour and line? Editor: Yes, the colour fields definitely create depth. The narrower bands are like little beats, or rather, a complex rhythm. Curator: Exactly. It makes me think of music, of improvisation… Do you find that these juxtapositions create a visual vibration for you, a bit like some of Bridget Riley's Op Art? Editor: Absolutely! It wasn't the first thing that popped to mind, but the afterimage effect from staring at the colours… It's quite strong. Did Carrade explicitly align with Op Art, or was he just exploring similar themes with hard-edge painting? Curator: That’s the thing about labels, isn't it? Carrade was hard to pin down. I think his primary impulse was pure visual exploration. And I suspect that any movement he belonged to was the one dictated by his own heart. Though, of course, art is always in dialogue with its moment. Editor: That makes a lot of sense. It feels more… personal than some of the more clinical examples of the style. Thanks, that’s really helpful. Curator: The pleasure was all mine! It always excites me when a piece speaks in a way that truly reverberates between our shared aesthetic senses.