Constellation 1946

Peter Busa made "Constellation" with ink and gouache on paper, though it's undated, so we're not sure when. The shapes interact playfully, kind of tumbling across the surface of the page. The color palette is so 50’s somehow, that green and brown combination. There's a childlike quality to the mark making, but also a real sophistication in the way that Busa has balanced the composition, pitting the light green and black sections against each other. I'm drawn to the white lines that dance around the edges of the shapes, connecting them and giving the image a sense of movement. They create a feeling of openness, like the forms are not quite contained. You can see the hand of the artist so clearly in this piece, with the visible brushstrokes and the way the colors bleed into each other. It reminds me a little of Joan Miró, who also had a knack for creating these playful, biomorphic forms. Ultimately, "Constellation" feels like a conversation, an invitation to get lost in the details and discover something new each time you look at it.