The Audacity

Nice! The hard edges and varied scale of those rectangles nails it for me. Probably also the rule of thirds, and the colors, of course, as John says in his critique.

Geometric abstraction comes in many forms but is most often associated with minimalists. Blocks of color, and concentric circles, all artfully arranged with an economy of means and attention to detail, defines minimalist painting. Sometimes minimalist works have an audacity of color and form that loudly announces themselves to the viewer (think 1960-70s Frank Stella). Other times they are more subtle and tonally subdued. W.S. Cranmore’s The Audacity falls perfectly in between these two minimalist distinctions. The rich, deep almost-burgundy bar of color dominating the upper third of the picture offsets the enlivening lightness of the central passage of blue. Below the central expanse of blue rests an activated and richly painted section of beigey white. Cutting through these three areas of harmonious color are four perfectly spaced rectangular bars of respectively black, yellow, and turquoise-like blue. Without the inclusion of this quadruplet of directionally opposed geometric passages, the work would be too austere and call to mind a flag and not a study of color and shape. However, Cranmore achieves a perfect balance between hue and form that endlessly engages the eye without unnecessary embellishment.