UntitledThere's a strong sense of depth here, with what looks like paperbark layered finely on top of itself. This depth adds to the organic feel - it's as though the viewer could crawl inside and go to sleep in it's warm, hyper colour folds.
The colours remind me of Kandinsky's 1911 piece Improvisation No. 19 - while more muted than Kandinsky's primary-based palette, there is a combination of conflict and cooperation between the reds and blues, which adds a strong dynamic to the composition.
Improvisation No. 19
It's also interesting to compare the state of abstract painting from how it was at the beginning and as it is now, almost 100 years on. There is a strong refinement of the aesthetic, the quality of line and colour work now is amazing, while the pieces of the early 20th century seem almost childish. Perhaps this is because there is no longer a need for the abstract to be explored, refined, and painters can focus on creating works of beauty rather than works of progress.
One may ask why abstract painting need continue - surely it is summed up by this:
Black Suprematist Square
The colours remind me of Kandinsky's 1911 piece Improvisation No. 19 - while more muted than Kandinsky's primary-based palette, there is a combination of conflict and cooperation between the reds and blues, which adds a strong dynamic to the composition.
Improvisation No. 19It's also interesting to compare the state of abstract painting from how it was at the beginning and as it is now, almost 100 years on. There is a strong refinement of the aesthetic, the quality of line and colour work now is amazing, while the pieces of the early 20th century seem almost childish. Perhaps this is because there is no longer a need for the abstract to be explored, refined, and painters can focus on creating works of beauty rather than works of progress.
One may ask why abstract painting need continue - surely it is summed up by this:
Black Suprematist SquareKasimir Malevich's defining work, Black Suprematist Square (1914-15), is as far as you can go from subject based painting and still place the paint on the canvas. And this was finished nearly a century ago. So, one may ask, what is the point of abstract painting? Surely no artist can hope to match the refinement of power found within the black square - it obliterates all before it, and we are forced to realise that this is what painting is. So what is the point?
I would argue that it is the pursuit of aesthetic beauty - some would say truth. The cynic in me wants to say that it's because artists need something to paint, regardless of whether there's any point to it. That's unfair. This pursuit of aesthetic beauty/truth is what drives us to keep trying to better our designs, our illustrations, our paintings. If we were not driven, works like Min's untitled would not exist, and the world would be a poorer place for it.
I would argue that it is the pursuit of aesthetic beauty - some would say truth. The cynic in me wants to say that it's because artists need something to paint, regardless of whether there's any point to it. That's unfair. This pursuit of aesthetic beauty/truth is what drives us to keep trying to better our designs, our illustrations, our paintings. If we were not driven, works like Min's untitled would not exist, and the world would be a poorer place for it.
