Relational Painting #73 1954

Fritz Glarner made this painting called "Relational Painting #73" sometime during his career, we are unsure exactly when, using oil on canvas. Look at the way these rectangles bump up against each other, how they're placed on the canvas almost as if they were puzzle pieces. I wonder, was Fritz thinking about architecture when he made this? About how buildings relate to one another? Or maybe he was trying to capture a specific emotion? Perhaps he sought to express harmony through the careful arrangement of shapes and colors. The gray rectangle—not quite in the center—feels weighty, solid. Like a pause in a conversation. And then your eye jumps to that little flash of yellow! It is almost Mondrian-esque in its simplicity. Artists are always chatting with each other, even across time, like a big, messy, creative family. Painting is a process of inquiry, a way of figuring things out, and Glarner invites us to participate in that process with him. There's no right or wrong way to look at this—it's all about how it makes you feel.