Composition 1919

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made this painting, Composition, using watercolour, and look at how the washes are applied! The making of the painting seems to be as important as the image itself. There's something very satisfying about this work; the build-up of colours, the texture of the paper coming through, the soft transitions from light to dark. The forms are abstract but they also remind me of plant-like shapes, or maybe even a landscape viewed through a kaleidoscope. Notice the dark blue marks at the bottom left, and how they contrast with the lighter yellows and greens above. The blue anchors the piece, while also creating a sense of depth and mystery. I'm put in mind of Hilma af Klint, and her own pursuit of abstraction as a means of expressing the unseen. And like Klint, Mattis-Teutsch's work suggests that art can be a way of exploring the world, but also a way of creating new realities.