Constellations 1938

Jean Arp made 'Constellations' with biomorphic shapes and a pared-down palette of green and beige. Can you picture him in his studio, maybe shuffling around the space to get a different view, snipping out shapes, arranging and rearranging them on the ground? I'm thinking about how this work echoes the cut-outs of Henri Matisse, with the freedom to move elements around, adding some, taking others away, always looking for balance. It's a dialogue of flat forms, each shape finding its place within the whole. That large central form – it's almost like a figure, but it's also like a puzzle piece, connecting to the others. Maybe Arp was after something similar to what Rothko was doing with colour, making you feel something profound through simplicity. It makes you wonder what new ways of seeing and thinking it can inspire in us.