Turiec 1934 - 1935

Mikuláš Galanda made this watercolour, Turiec, with delicate washes of colour, and definitive black outlines. It's a place, seen through the act of painting. I love how Galanda uses the paper, letting the colour seep and bleed into it to evoke a feeling. The pale blue of the sky and mountain contrasts with the warmer hay bale in the foreground. But it’s the black lines that really make this painting for me. They give structure and form to this landscape, without feeling rigid. They look like the lines of a woodcut, incisive and economical, with an expressionistic quality. The hay bale on the left of the painting is just amazing, right? It’s rendered with a series of curved lines that suggest both its volume and texture. The lines are loose and gestural, conveying a sense of movement and energy. It’s like he's captured the essence of the hay bale. There is a real kinship here with the work of Emil Nolde. Both artists share a love of colour, and a bold, graphic approach to form. Ultimately it's a reminder that art is about seeing, feeling, and making marks that bring the world to life.