Composition 1991

Eugene Brands created this painting with oil on board, and what strikes me first is how the colours almost seem to float above the creamy surface. It’s like he's making an image in reverse, letting the underpainting peek through. The paint feels almost chalky in places, with these quick, dry brushstrokes layered on top of each other. Look at the saturated red mass and how it almost bleeds into the green oval, as if the form is being eaten away. The black mark to the left seems to push against the red, anchoring the composition. I can almost imagine the artist working quickly, intuitively, letting the paint guide the way. This tension, this push and pull, makes me think of Joan Miró, who knew how to balance playful abstraction with a deeper sense of unease. Ultimately, art is like a conversation, a continuous exchange of ideas. There is no one right way to see it.