Spectral Harmony 2021

Curator: Looking at Mark Kostabi’s acrylic painting, "Spectral Harmony," from 2021, what’s your immediate reaction? Editor: It’s quite striking, a somewhat dissonant but harmonic arrangement of vibrant colour. I find the painting chaotic at first glance. The forms, while representational, exist more as abstract planes of color interacting within the composition. Curator: Indeed. This painting certainly encapsulates some complex social themes related to alienation and the digital age. The faceless figures suggest a loss of individuality, while the romantic Parisian backdrop acts as a poignant juxtaposition. Note the piano player seated, apparently removed from it all. Do you see that element playing into this idea? Editor: Absolutely. I am drawn to how Kostabi places the piano player toward the bottom as the base of the work's structure, but they remain fragmented and abstracted. The flattened perspective adds to a dreamlike atmosphere. It is as though the figures aren't truly present. I see those qualities most profoundly. Curator: It feels postmodern. And the use of graffiti art-like abstraction challenges our assumptions about beauty and societal connection. We have an Eiffel Tower next to faceless figures. How do we contextualize the painting’s narrative when confronted with all the negative and positive messaging from society? Editor: It’s intriguing that the city scene appears only through outlines, flattening it. We only see it through the symbolic tower. Kostabi pushes the notion of pure painting to its extreme in the sense that it emphasizes its pure surface devoid of conventional subject matter. It becomes not just a record of something, but also a thing in and of itself. Curator: So the artwork embodies, formally, those modern concerns about communication and identity, perhaps? The relationship with location is important here too, no? We are very aware of where the subjects are… or supposed to be. This can be understood when discussing a range of issues and current dialogues happening today in the sphere of existentialism. Editor: In totality, yes, the abstraction makes the scene otherworldly, as does the painting’s artificial color scheme, which emphasizes the inherent properties of the medium itself. Curator: I'd say seeing "Spectral Harmony" provides a vital commentary on humanity and modernism. The piece definitely invites us to question, even to struggle with where art stands in the dialogue with humanity. Editor: Yes. I came for the geometry, but the emotion is what resonated with me in the end.