Colorful Squares
September 13, 2014, through November 02, 2014
Vehicles of Artistic Ideas
-
Colorful Squares: Vehicles of Artistic Ideas installed in the Hood Museum's Temporary Exhibitions Lobby. Photo by Jeffrey Nintzel.
Series
Location
Exhibition, Lobby
About
While the use of squares as decorative elements can be traced back to the geometric patterns on Greek pottery in 700 B.C.E., the square did not become a dominant compositional element in paintings until the twentieth century. The simplicity and regularity of the square, as both surface and compositional element, might be seen to restrict freedom of representation; however, some artists found that through nuanced coloring, shading, and positioning of squares they were able to convey ideas without distracting the viewer with complicated forms. This installation explores the use of the square in paintings during the 1960s and 1970s to illustrate the range of effects produced through this simple geometric form.
A Space for Dialogue, founded with support from the Class of 1948, is made possible with generous endowments from the Class of 1967, Bonnie and Richard Reiss Jr., Class of 1966, and Pamela J. Joyner, Class of 1979.
Exhibition Curator
Xinyue Guo