African Landscape 1997

Editor: So, here we have Lisa Milroy's "African Landscape" from the Tate Collections. I'm struck by the brushstrokes and how they create a sense of vastness with such economy. What formal elements stand out to you? Curator: Note the stratification of space. The horizontal bands of color—sky, horizon, land—create a planar effect. The application of paint is gestural, almost indexical. How does this affect your perception of depth, or perhaps the lack thereof? Editor: It flattens it, definitely, almost like a map. It's interesting how the brushstrokes, though loose, still define the space. I wonder, is this flatness a conscious choice related to the subject matter? Curator: Precisely. Consider the reduction of form, the deliberate simplification. It's not merely representational; it's a meditation on the very idea of landscape. This piece provides a compelling case study in the reduction and essentializing of a landscape.