Untitled 1936

Balcomb Greene made this untitled collage using paper, probably around 1930. It looks like he put it together bit by bit, maybe moving shapes around until they just felt right. I wonder what he was thinking about when he was making this? Those flat shapes of grey, black and tan make me think of cityscapes or architectural models but they’re all skewed at odd angles. It reminds me a bit of Stuart Davis, that syncopated rhythm of shapes and colors. See that grey triangle with the white kidney bean shape in the middle? It feels like a building teetering on the edge, like something's slightly off-kilter. It makes you realize that even geometric shapes can communicate feeling, intention, or meaning. And that’s painting: an ongoing conversation across time where artists riff off each other, embracing the beauty of ambiguity.