Optophone I 1922

Francis Picabia created this artwork called Optophone I, and you can see how the painting emerged through intuition. It's all about the act of seeing and how we see. Imagine Picabia making this; he may have been thinking about color and form, space and shape. The contrasting concentric circles give it such a sense of depth, as if the figure is falling or being pulled into this vortex. The simple color choices enhance this feeling and contribute to its visual impact. The figure almost disappears against the pattern, but then it reappears. Picabia was like a DJ, sampling from all over, and that’s what makes him forever modern. All artists are in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other’s creativity, embracing ambiguity, and allowing for multiple interpretations.