Untitled 3
By Hedi Mertens, 2000
A grid of soft squares fills this canvas, most of them glowing in warm shades of yellow, with unexpected flashes of blue, pink, gray, and black breaking through. Painted in 2000 by Swiss artist Hedi Mertens, "Untitled 3" has an orderly, calm feel, but those scattered bursts of color keep pulling your eye from one corner to another. The repeating shapes and shifting tones create a gentle rhythm, a little like a quiet piece of music built from simple notes.
Mertens found her way to abstract art later in life, and she developed a real fascination with geometry and thoughtful arrangements of color. Her painting belongs to a tradition known as Concrete Art, a style that relies on pure shapes, lines, and colors rather than picturing anything from the world around us. The idea is that the artwork exists only as itself, free of hidden meanings or symbols. What appears on the canvas is simply that, nothing more, and that plain honesty gives the work its appeal.
The warm yellow backdrop lends everything a sunny, welcoming glow, while the cooler blues and brighter pinks pop against it with a bit of playful energy. Colors seem to brighten one another where they meet, and the whole surface hums with a quiet balance. This is a painting to sit with for a while, enjoying the easy pleasure of shape and color simply keeping each other company.