Realistic abstraction 1940

Alexander Rodchenko made this ‘Realistic Abstraction’ painting with oil on canvas, and looking at it, I think about what it might have been like to make. I imagine Rodchenko starting with the black background, a void, then building up these shapes and forms in relation to each other. There is a certain strangeness to the palette – a mustard yellow, a kind of olive green, brick red – and how these colors sit alongside each other to create these almost architectural forms. Rodchenko’s brushwork, laying down each tone with intention, invites us to consider how color can define shape and space. What was he thinking when he placed that cube? Was it an attempt to ground these abstract forms in reality? Painters are in an ongoing conversation. We steal ideas, respond to forms, and try to make something that we haven’t seen before. Painting is a form of expression that embraces uncertainty. Each brushstroke, each color choice, becomes a question and an answer, allowing for multiple interpretations.