Cyclos

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on January 7, 2020 at 9:02pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

Cyclos recently resurfaced on the site, and I was struck by the elegance of the extreme asymmetrical balance of the design. As part of your “Illustrated History” portfolio, the piece conjures associations with mathematical patterns and proportions in biology, physics, and astronomy. The floral patterns along the body of the iconic muse softens the clean lines of geometry and mathematical calculations throughout the piece.  The large amount of negative space on the right side opens up the line of sight for the planet gazing female figure, and for the viewer. While media and scale aren’t indicated, I find myself wondering if this is a hand inked piece, or a photographic collage. The piece offers up the aesthetic motif of a Classical engraving, while having a vaguely contemporary twist in the economy of its austere composition. While I enjoy the bilateral symmetry in related pieces such as Café #1 and #2, it is the relative instability of the composition that attracts me to Cyclos. It’s as if the work reminds us that an individual vision may not align with an anticipated outcome, or natural equilibrium.