IT MUST BE SEEN.

Language is what tells us something about the essence of a thing. The word color originates from the Indo-European root kel (to hide), and in Germanic it gave rise to the word helm (helmet) and the root khallo (to cover, to hide). As language evolved, the meaning shifted from “to hide” to “rays of light that we perceive through the eyes.”

Even more interesting is the etymological root of the word in German (Farbe), which originates from the Old High German concept far(a)wa, meaning lighthouse. The etymological evolution of the word supports Goethe’s idea that “color in itself is a degree of darkness.” Modern theories of color spring from this. The exhibition “You Must See It” places color at the center, freed from form and contingency. A multifaceted approach that deeply analyzes both 20th and 21st-century abstract artists and the earlier theoretical references that influenced them.