Atlantique V 

Editor: Here we have *Atlantique V* by Genevieve Asse. It’s a monochrome painting and at first glance, seems incredibly simple – almost just a flat, pale surface divided by a thin horizontal line. What’s your take on it? Curator: Ah, yes. Asse! I love her way of pulling us in. That simple line is really everything, isn't it? Imagine standing on a shore – horizon a shimmer. You feel utterly lost in the vastness. Editor: Lost in vastness, that's well put! I was so focused on the flatness. Curator: The painting doesn't "show" the ocean, it *is* the feeling of the ocean – the boundlessness. Have you noticed the almost palpable stillness? It’s not just what you see, it's what you *sense*. It’s the moment before a storm perhaps or that eerie calm that settles over water right before the sun dips below the line... the color, it’s the in-between of blue and gray. Asse called it her “inner space”. Editor: That’s a very poetic idea – her inner space made visible. Do you think everyone finds that sense of peace, or even a sense of disquiet, in her work? Curator: I like that idea of 'disquiet' being present there as well. Yes, but not actively there -- like a scent lingering on the breeze from the salty shore or damp forest. I imagine for some, her abstractions are baffling, too minimal perhaps. But maybe they haven’t quite tilted their head at the right angle or softened their focus enough. To see, or rather *feel*, what's held so intimately there in her 'Atlantique'. Editor: So, it’s about tuning yourself to her wavelength to truly "get" the painting, or perhaps a reminder that paintings work beyond their simple aesthetic qualities? Thank you! Curator: Exactly! A reminder of our own capacity for perception, our own ‘inner space’ meeting hers… and sometimes, art really is about just showing up, allowing. What do you call that now – mindfulness!