Interno cubista 1912

Aleksandra Ekster made this Cubist interior with oils, and just look at the way the colours shift from ochre to burnt umber, with touches of forest green! I like to imagine Ekster stepping back, squinting at the canvas, turning it upside down even, as she might have puzzled over how to pull the composition together. It’s like she’s searching for the spirit of the place, conjuring it through semi-transparent layers of paint. See how the light seems to filter down from above? She was probably thinking about how space can be both solid and permeable, a bit like a memory or a dream. The arches and angular shapes – they almost feel like they're breathing. Painting can be like a dance, a conversation between the artist, the materials, and the ghosts of other paintings that came before. It’s so interesting to consider how artists engage with one another across time, riffing on each other’s ideas, trying to find their own way to express something new.