Rosace II 1941

Otto Freundlich made this painting, Rosace II, with what looks like oil paint, in what seems to be a search for pure abstraction. Look closely, and you can see a patchwork of geometric shapes, like a stained-glass window exploded and reassembled. The colors are vibrant but also earthy, somehow, with reds, blues, greens, and yellows jostling for space. There’s a real push-pull happening, a tension between the flat surface and the illusion of depth created by the overlapping forms. I’m drawn to the way Freundlich used the paint, thinly applied in some areas, allowing the texture of the canvas to peek through, and more thickly in others, building up a subtle relief. I can almost feel the artist's hand moving, making decisions, adjusting angles, and finding a balance between chaos and order. This reminds me of other abstract artists like Sonia Delaunay, who juggled color and form to create her own kind of visual music. Art’s a conversation, right? A constant exchange of ideas and approaches, and there are no definitive answers.