Pauses (4 - 2 - E - 11) 1993

Yves Gaucher made this print, Pauses (4 - 2 - E - 11), with serigraphy, a process of pushing ink through a screen, which is a dance of control and chance. Like all printmaking, there’s a lot of steps and room for mishaps. It makes me think about jazz and the pauses in between the notes. I love how Gaucher sets up this quiet rhythm using colour. The paper is raw, untouched, making the colours more vibrant and stark. The central red rectangle feels solid, dense, while the outer shapes are split between black and what looks like a deep blue. It’s a strange combination, like a muted symphony. I keep thinking of Ad Reinhardt, his black on black paintings, but with a twist. I'm into how the edges of the shapes are so clean, so precise. This hard-edged abstraction is trying to find harmony, or maybe it’s the friction that makes it so compelling. It feels so planned, so executed, but also so alive.