Something happened when you saw this. What was it?
Buy on Saatchi ArtShipping and returns handled by Saatchi Art.
Geometric Splendor · 2023
Abstraction of Yellow (Not)
Available · in the studio, Phoenix
Yellow that insists on being more than yellow — the color made abstract until it becomes the question of what yellow was in the first place.
Abstraction of Yellow (Not) (2023) is a contradiction wrapped in color. Part of the Geometric Splendor Collection, this 48 x 48 inch mixed media painting plays with the expectations of color theory and the trickiness of perception. It poses a simple question: if something looks like yellow, is it?
The canvas glows with ochre, acid chartreuse, pale gold — everything adjacent to yellow, yet not quite. Around this core swirl geometric forms, blocks of shadow, and unexpected interruptions in deep teal and rust. The composition is structured but loose, like a diagram caught in motion.
The title is tongue-in-cheek, but also philosophical. It’s about how quickly we name what we see — and how naming limits our experience. I wanted to create a painting that resists the comfort of recognition. Yellow, but not yellow. Geometry, but not logic. A map without coordinates.
This work resonates with Joseph Albers, particularly his studies of color interaction, where a shift in context can completely alter perception. But while Albers pursued precision, Abstraction of Yellow (Not) embraces ambiguity. It winks.
There’s humor in this piece. But also curiosity. What happens when we remove certainty from form? When we lean into misreading as a creative act?
As part of Geometric Splendor, this painting challenges the rigidity of form by letting it breathe, crack, and misbehave. It invites you to see — and then unsee.
Where to see it. In person at RituStudio, Phoenix, by appointment. Represented by Jarrow & Goodman, Los Angeles.
The space it needs
- Wall
- At least 5 ft wide
- Ceiling
- 8 ft or more
- Light
- Any lighting — geometric structure holds in all conditions
- Daylight
- Ochre and pale gold intensify in west light, while the deep teal stays cool and keeps some structure. Morning light from the east is the kinder match; late sun turns the whole field brassier.
Lives best in
Living room 5/5
Abstraction of Yellow (Not) earns its 5 here because the ochre and acid chartreuse geometry sparks exactly the restless, circling conversation a living room is built for.
Hotel lobby 4/5
The hard-edged teal and rust forms read confidently from a distance and hold a lobby's transient eye without demanding it stop and stay.
Details
- Size
- 4 × 4 ft (W × H)
- Medium
- Acrylic on canvas
- Finish
- Epoxy over acrylic. The resin lifts the color off the canvas and holds it forward, so the surface deepens as the light moves across the room.
- Year
- 2023
- Collection
- Geometric Splendor
- Palette
- Ochre · Acid Chartreuse · Pale Gold · Deep Teal · Rust
- Weight
- About 22 lb
- Ready
- In the studio; delivery 6–10 weeks
Its ArtGram
ArtGram.Sprig
- Texture2
- Form5
- Colour range3
- Palette3.5
- Contrast3.3
- Abstraction Quotient2
