Morgenrot 1965

Jacques Busse painted this piece, titled Morgenrot, which translates to dawn in German, in 1965. The palette is mostly reds, browns, and blacks, laid down in confident strokes, and you can sense Busse figuring it out as he goes. It's like watching a painter think. The shapes are kind of wonky trapezoids, with thick outlines, but where they meet, the colors bleed, and you can see the ghost of a brushstroke, a decision, and a change of heart. I love the little drips of white and green near the left, they feel like an accident. But accidents are how paintings come alive, right? It reminds me a little of some of the early abstract painters, like Kupka. But also, it's just Busse doing his thing, not worrying too much about making a perfect shape, more interested in the feeling of the paint and the push and pull of the colors. Art's a conversation; it doesn't have to be a lecture.