Observation VII 1965

Jimmy Ernst made this abstract work, Observation VII, with ink and watercolor, and it feels like he was thinking through a problem. The way the lines and colours are layered suggests a process of building and rebuilding. It's less about a fixed image and more about the act of searching. Check out how the left side of the piece has these spiky, chaotic lines that almost feel like an explosion, or maybe a plant bursting forth. Then, your eye moves over to the right, and there's this grid-like structure with circles and dots. The contrast in textures and patterns is really striking. This push and pull between chaos and order, or freedom and constraint, is a familiar theme in abstract art. Jimmy Ernst's work reminds me of Paul Klee, someone else who juggled abstraction and representation, playing with colour and form to create these little worlds. And both artists leave us, as viewers, with more questions than answers, and that’s a good thing.