1/3 Gray-Green Curved Area, 1966. Oil on Masonite, two panels, 48 x 83 3/4 inches (121.9 x 212.7 cm) overall. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York,Panza Collection  91.3781. © 2012 Robert Mangold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Robert Mangold’s Curved Areas (1966–67) reflect a loose connection to the empirical world, as in his previous series inspired by the rooftops of Manhattan, Walls and Areas of the mid-1960s. In the summer of 1965, Mangold painted sketches of the negative space between mountains in upstate New York. With the aid of a compass, the artist translated these outlines into regular geometric forms. He prohibited any association with the landscape by selecting neutral colors drawn from factory-made sources, such as brown paper bags and office supplies, and applied them in single, even matte layer. By dividing the painting vertically into separate panels, Mangold further counteracts the illusion of depth and calls attention to the work’s physical support. For all their distinctness as self-contained objects, however, these paintings invite the viewer to mentally extend the curves on either side and resolve them into a one continuous circle.