Painting #02-26 2002

Rudolf de Crignis’s “Painting #02-26” is all about the power of simplicity, but there’s a complexity hiding in plain sight. It’s like when you think you’re just staring at a blue square, but really, you're diving headfirst into the deep end of perception. The surface is super smooth, so smooth you’re almost sure he sanded it between layers. This isn't about showing off a wild gesture. Instead, the physicality is all about the colour, a perfect, almost ethereal blue that hovers just above the canvas. I’m drawn to how this one colour can feel so expansive. It invites you to meditate on it, to let your mind wander through different shades of emotion. It reminds me of Agnes Martin, who used repetition and subtle variation to create fields of pure sensation. Like Martin, de Crignis understood that art isn’t just about what you see, but about how it makes you feel. It is the art of seeing, the art of feeling, the art of colour.