Red Abstraction 1990

Editor: Jorge Martins’s "Red Abstraction," from 1990, executed in acrylic paint, strikes me as both comforting and unsettling. There’s a familiar geometry to it, almost domestic, but the red hues are intense. What catches your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: The prevalence of red, for starters. In art, red is so loaded. Think about it - blood, passion, sacrifice, anger. Here, the layering of red shades, the almost oppressive quality, suggests to me a sort of suppressed energy. But it’s not simply the colour; it's the structure. What do you make of the geometric forms contained within? Editor: The horizontal lines definitely evoke a sense of order, almost like a window blind filtering the light, but the colours feel a bit off somehow and there's something just outside of what’s rational or familiar about the composition and colour choices. Curator: Precisely! That interplay between order and the irrational creates tension. Perhaps a symbolic representation of how we filter reality through our own internal "blinds," allowing only certain colours or experiences to pass through, blocking others. Note too how that little glimpse of a jagged, colourful horizon contrasts to all the ordered straightness within. The sharp contrast is quite poignant and disturbing at the same time. Editor: That's fascinating. I hadn’t considered the psychological implications of filtering reality. This piece offers more depth the more I observe the various symbolic devices Martins employs. Curator: Indeed. This "Red Abstraction," in all its simplicity, becomes a powerful meditation on perception, emotion and, above all, memory.