White on Black c. 1950

John von Wicht made this abstract print, White on Black, on paper. The dance of crisp white lines on a stark black background is mesmerizing; I can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the surface, subtracting what isn’t there to reveal the composition. The painting emerges through intuition. I wonder, what was going through John von Wicht's mind? This feels like a quest to find the essence of form. The lines feel like shorthand for something else, something felt but not spoken. I am reminded of Miro and Kandinsky and that lineage of modernism, exploring the subconscious and the spiritual through abstraction. Each gesture communicates meaning and intention. These lines are in conversation with each other. It's a reminder that artists, through time, inspire one another, conversing through their work and that painting embraces ambiguity, allowing endless possibilities.