Composition 1923

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this painting, called 'Composition,' with what looks like oil on canvas. It's a flurry of abstract shapes in red, blue, green and purple, all jostling for space. I like to think that Janos started with one shape, maybe that strong red form at the top, and then just kept responding to it. Like a visual conversation where each stroke calls for another, until it feels just right. Imagine him, brush in hand, thinking about how the coolness of that blue would play against the warmth of the red. He's pushing and pulling, balancing the composition. Each color vibrates against its neighbor, and the whole thing shimmers with energy. The texture is palpable, like he's really worked the surface to get those marks just so. You can see the influence of Kandinsky in his determination to find the spiritual in abstraction. It’s exciting to see artists like Janos, taking risks, pushing the boundaries of what painting can be, and inviting us to see the world in new ways.