Although formal concerns in art making vary from artist to artist, the formal concepts embraced by each artist overlap in ideas about color. The Chromatic Palette, an exhibition of the work of artists based in Georgia, was curated specifically for The Art Section. I asked each artist I invited to create a new work in an almost monochromatic hue of their choice. In viewing the spectrum of works that resulted from this invitation, I found that reading color and exploring its variation is part of the language of many artists.

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When receiving these works, I have taken notice of the way a formal property like color can have meaning for the artist. My preconceptions about an array of color proved to be incorrect, however. I thought I would receive a standard spectrum of color, but these artists responded with a lot of green hues that moved towards turquoise into arrays of pinks and reds to browns, and then to many blues.

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My question is, what does an artist think about when working with color? Do artists who live and work in Georgia respond to its geography? Does the Southern landscape, the relation of light to it, and the angle of the sun make us respond to color differently?  I often think about Rembrandt, an artist usually discussed more in terms of light than of color. The maestro’s paintings feel so tied to the landscape of Amsterdam; a city defined by a range of browns to deep purples; the street bollards are painted the darkest violet. When you see The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the painting acquires a formal meaning in relation to its location that resonates beyond the group portrait. It is color that creates light.

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I am grateful to those who made the leap into this format so that the viewer can embrace the meaning and content of color within each of these artists works. 

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Deanna Sirlin

Atlanta, Georgia

September 2024