Venice 1924

Aleksandra Ekster made this painting, called Venice, with oil on canvas. Just imagine her, moving fluidly, with fast, energetic brushstrokes. The painting emerges through layers of color, like trial and error, but with intuition! I'm thinking about what it must have been like to stand in front of that canvas, working through the composition, arranging these geometric forms just so. I can imagine Ekster working quickly to capture all the energy and light of Venice. Check out the surface, the physical presence of the paint! The yellow next to the black, the red, and the blue - these color combinations create such an intensity. The painting is alive, right? Looking at this work, I'm reminded of other artists from the Russian avant-garde and Italian futurists, all of whom were interested in capturing the dynamism of modern life. Artists have always been in conversation. We look and learn from each other. Painting embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings. There is no definitive reading.