Untitled 1981

This untitled artwork by Helen Pashgian is a meditation on light and form, brought to life with a warm, almost fiery palette. I imagine Pashgian, a true Californian artist, experimenting with how light interacts with surfaces. She is like a conductor of light, isn't she? Think about her process: how the layering of colors might have started with a dark ground, building up to these radiant, translucent layers. The squares floating against the linear structures add a cool touch of color to the composition, drawing your eye in and through the picture plane. It reminds me of other West Coast artists, like Larry Bell and his glass cubes; there’s a similar interest in light and space here, a real dialogue between artists and their materials. Pashgian seems to be interested in an ongoing conversation, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed readings.