Leon Aarts, ''Above and Below'' (c. 2010s, acrylic on canvas, 48" × 24")

Above and Below is a striking vertical diptych that dramatizes the boundary between two worlds: an orderly, luminous “above” and a dense, subterranean “below.” The canvas is split horizontally at the exact midpoint, creating a mirror-like tension that invites the viewer to read the painting both as a landscape and as a psychological map.

2. Composition & Structure

Binary Division: The hard horizontal seam is the painting’s spine. Aarts uses it like a tectonic fault line, above is airy and rhythmic, below is compacted and chaotic. This literal “above/below” architecture is both didactic and effective.
Golden Ratio Echoes: The swirling motifs in the upper register loosely follow golden spirals, giving the eye natural paths to travel. The lower half deliberately violates these spirals, creating productive friction.
Vertical Vectors: Thin drip-lines descend from the upper zone into the lower, acting as stalactites or roots. They are the only elements that cross the divide, suggesting permeability between realms.

The temperature flip is dramatic but not jarring; Aarts threads metallic gold from top to bottom, creating a visual suture. The upper half reads like sunset seen from underwater, the lower like deep-sea vents photographed with a flash.

Above and Below is a confident, almost architectural painting that succeeds because it trusts its central conceit. It flirts with decoration (the candy-like swirls) yet anchors itself in visceral materiality. With minor adjustments to the horizon and breathing room in the lower strata, it could move from very good to iconic.

Score (out of 10): 8.4 An ambitious vertical manifesto that almost fully reconciles cosmic order with chthonic chaos.