Spring in Pennsylvania 1946

David Burliuk made "Spring in Pennsylvania," which is an oil on canvas, using short strokes of contrasting colours. It's like he's planting each mark, just as the farmer in the foreground is planting his crops. The surface has a real physicality. It’s not just about depicting a scene; it’s about the stuff of paint. The texture is built up with these little dabs and dashes, a mosaic of colour that shimmers as you move around the painting. Notice how the pinks and yellows of the flowers in the field vibrate against the greens, they are not blended at all, but the total effect is of something blooming. Burliuk's work reminds me a little of Van Gogh, not just in the subject matter, but in that dedication to the physical stuff of paint. It's this conversation across time and between artists that makes art so endlessly fascinating. There’s no one right way to see it, it’s all about what it sparks in you.