Counter composition XIII 1925

Theo van Doesburg made this canvas of geometric forms in shades of grey, black, white, red, and yellow with oil paint, and it lives in Venice. I can only imagine him standing there with his brush, trying to bring into being a perfectly balanced composition. It’s not easy, you know! I always feel like I am wrestling with the painting, adding something, then taking something else away. The red parallelogram feels like it's pushing against the black triangle, which wants to retreat into the corner. There is a beautiful tension, a feeling of things being held in place through sheer force of will. I think of Mondrian and Malevich, who were both, in their own way, trying to find the essence of painting. It's a conversation across time and space. We can’t help but be inspired by each other's struggles. And that, I think, is the beauty of art. It’s never truly finished.