Black Circle 1923

Kazimir Malevich painted this Black Circle sometime in the early 20th century, and it feels like a punch in the face, doesn't it? I mean that in a good way, because the gesture feels confident and bold. I imagine Malevich mixing his paints, trying to find just the right shade of deep, dark nothingness, laying it on the canvas, and then stepping back, and yeah, there it is. That’s what I want. A void. A portal. It makes me think about Barnett Newman, who was so into zips and color fields. All these painters, one way or another, are searching for a kind of essence, right? A distillation. And here, Malevich does it with this simple form. It is a bit wonky, like my circles. You look at it and think, wow, that’s just a black circle. But is it *just* a black circle? Or is it something more?