Tower 1990

This 'Tower' by Roberto Aizenberg, is made with paint, perhaps oil or acrylic, on what looks like canvas. It’s striking how flat the colors are, almost like cut paper, and the way the green lines hold the black ones in place. Looking closely, the paint is applied smoothly, with very little texture, so the process feels hidden, or maybe even like a diagram. See how the lines of green run top to bottom, creating a kind of armature, while the black is more solid. This makes me think about the relationship between architecture and nature, or maybe about how we build structures, both physical and mental. The simplicity of the colors and shapes reminds me of some of Agnes Martin’s grids, though Aizenberg’s has this strange, unsettling quality that makes it hard to look away. Like Martin, he shows us how much emotion can be packed into the most basic forms. It feels like an exercise in seeing.