Opus 29 1951

Hans Hinterreiter made this striking geometric abstraction titled Opus 29 sometime in the mid-twentieth century. Looking at this, I’m reminded of the cut-and-paste process of collage; perhaps the artist painstakingly built up the image from various shards of colour, intuitively piecing everything together? The painting feels calm, ordered, each block of colour nestled carefully alongside the next. But, at the same time, the converging lines give the composition a real sense of dynamic movement. It feels as though the picture is simultaneously expanding and contracting, like an accordion. I wonder if Hinterreiter was aware of artists like Bridget Riley or Victor Vasarely when he made this. The legacy of geometric abstraction is so interesting; I love how artists are in an ongoing conversation, responding to one another across time. For me, this painting offers an experience that is both visually stimulating and soothing, as though I am looking into infinity...