Apollo 1923

Willi Baumeister made "Apollo" with oils to construct this curious abstracted human form. The painting has come into being through a process that feels both intuitive and planned, the muted palette of browns, tans, blues, and white creating a sense of harmony and order. I can imagine Baumeister standing before the canvas, carefully considering each shape and its relationship to the others, probably moving shapes around, squinting, and trying again and again to find a new way. There’s an interest in form, of course, but also something else at play – a yearning to capture the essence of humanity through the most elemental of means. The flat, geometric shapes are an ongoing conversation across time, a dialogue that continues to inspire creativity. Painting is an embodied expression, a physical act that embraces ambiguity and welcomes multiple interpretations.