Artist Colony 1912

Kmetty János painted this scene of an ‘Artist Colony’ with oil on canvas, though when exactly, we don’t know! What strikes me is the process of seeing involved. Look at the grass. It’s not just green, but bands of different greens, and even yellows and blues, laid down in confident strokes. János isn't trying to trick you into thinking this is real, he's inviting you to enjoy the artifice. The shapes of the trees are rounded and plump, almost cartoonish, rendered with visible marks. These dark green marks create the shadows, yet they remain so clearly like strokes on a page. The artist isn’t trying to hide his working, rather he's declaring it! I think of someone like Lois Dodd, who similarly found ways of seeing the geometry in nature. Both artists seem to enjoy making paintings that invite us to see the world afresh through the joy of colour and mark-making. Ultimately, art is about seeing, and this piece opens up so many ways of doing just that.