Non-objective composition 1917

Alexander Rodchenko made this non-objective composition with oil on wood, and for me, it feels as though he built it, piece by piece. I imagine the painting coming into being slowly, a quiet process of emergence, with Rodchenko adjusting each geometric component until it felt right. The colors are muted and earthy, black, greens, greys, reds, blues like aged pigments, laid down thinly, with the wood grain peeking through. You can see the ghost of previous marks beneath, like a half-erased drawing, that give the work a sense of depth and history. I find myself wondering what Rodchenko was thinking as he put this together? What did he want to express with these shapes? He’s in conversation with other abstract artists like Malevich but forging his own path with a distinct feel, almost architectural in its structure. It’s cool how artists keep inspiring and challenging each other like that, right?