Night V 1917

Albert Bloch conjured this landscape from his imagination, working with oil on canvas. The brooding reds and blacks make me think about the physical act of painting, the mixing of colors, the layering and blotting and pushing around of paint. I can imagine Bloch, staring out at the night sky, wrestling with the colors, trying to capture that feeling of awe and unease. The paint is applied in these thick, almost frantic strokes, especially in the sky, which is full of swirling energy. What was he feeling? Was he scared, excited, or maybe a little bit of both? I recognize that wrestling with the canvas! It reminds me of other painters who have tried to capture the sublime, like Turner or Ryder. Artists are always having this conversation across time, borrowing ideas and pushing each other forward. It’s nice to think that Bloch was part of that conversation, grappling with the mysteries of the universe and trying to put them on canvas.