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Virginia Jaramillo's 'Untitled (#418)' // 'Wild Purple' by Joan Tower

KCUR

Published July 21, 2023 at 3:25 PM CDT

Virginia Jaramillo (Mexican American, born 1939), Shaman’s Dream, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 81½ x 69½ inches, Courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery and Pace Gallery. © Virginia Jaramillo. Image courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery and Pace Gallery. — Virginia Jaramillo (Mexican American, born 1939), Untitled (418), 1982, acrylic paint on handmade paper, 34¼ x 24½ inches, Courtesy of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri. © Virginia Jaramillo.

Among the lines and windowpane-like shapes in Virginia Jaramillo's "Untitled (#418)" a few colors blur into each other: white, gray, blue, purple. The purple is muted, almost a periwinkle, but still stands out against the more neutral colors of the work.

Purple is a bold color, and Joan Tower's "Wild Purple" embraces that richness, along with the mystery and mysticism of it. What awaits us on the other side of the window, and how does our preconceived assumptions and expectations color our vision?

Want to explore more music inspired by Virginia Jaramillo's artwork? Listen to our Spotify playlist for full pieces.

Find more information about 'Virginia Jaramillo: Principle of Equivalence' on the Kemper's website.

You can find out more about Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art at kemperart.org.

View the full Kemper Museum Permanent Collection here.