No. 2 1971

Curator: This is Bernard Cohen’s "No. 2," a work that resides in the Tate collection. Its creation date is unknown. Editor: My immediate reaction is…quiet. The large white space feels like a hush, with these sparse dots of color almost tentative. Curator: Cohen’s work emerged within a British art scene grappling with the legacies of abstraction. These dots are deceptively simple. Editor: They feel incredibly intentional, though. The placement, the delicate diffusion of the pigment… it avoids being sterile through its subtle imperfections. Curator: Indeed. Cohen's work was shown alongside artists engaged in debates about the social function of art. Did abstraction serve a purpose? Editor: I think so. Maybe not a didactic one, but the work can prompt a sort of meditative space, a quiet moment of contemplation away from the clamor of daily life. Curator: It’s interesting how the political role of art can evolve over time, from direct commentary to offering a space for reflection. Editor: Yes. Seeing it now offers me a place to find a new way to engage in a very noisy world.