Untitled 1938

This untitled painting, made with oil on canvas by Ad Reinhardt, is now at MoMA. Imagine Reinhardt, armed with his brushes and a palette brimming with a rainbow of colors, stepping up to the canvas. He layers blocks of vibrant pinks, oranges, blues, yellows, reds and greens, and then he frames the whole composition in grey. This isn't about realism; it's about pure color and form dancing together. I can see the push and pull of his brushstrokes, building up the surface, one color bumping up against another. There’s something playful about the way Reinhardt uses geometry, like he’s arranging building blocks or colorful tiles in a mosaic. The clean edges and flat surfaces remind me of Mondrian, but with a warmer, more human touch. It’s as though he’s inviting us into a conversation about how we see and feel color. His work speaks to the enduring power of painting.