Four Identical Large Parts III 1959

Max Bill created "Four Identical Large Parts III" using a geometrical arrangement of shapes, painted in cool greens and blues. I imagine him carefully building up these layers of color, masking off each shape, thinking about tonal relationships and precision, while also allowing for that tiny bit of human error. The thing I find so compelling about this piece is how Bill teases out such complexity and depth from such an elementary configuration of colors. There's a satisfying sense of logic to the composition, a rational simplicity that speaks to the artist’s design background. The paint feels pretty smooth and matte; you can imagine running your fingers over its surface. I wonder if he was looking at the work of Josef Albers when he made this? Artists are always having this ongoing conversation with one another and across time, picking up ideas here and there. Ultimately, painting is a form of expression, and while Bill's approach is very different from mine, I still feel a kinship. It's nice to see the traces of the artist’s mind in the work.