Komposition 1950

Gosta Adrian-Nilsson, or GAN as he signed his work, made this abstract composition in watercolor. The process feels very immediate, with the shapes layered one on top of another to build the image. There’s a lot of browns and grays, but also some hits of blue, all muted which gives it a quiet feeling. The watercolor is applied in thin washes, so you can see how GAN layered the different tones to create depth and texture. Look at the different surfaces, some are speckled, some are flat, some are transparent, and some opaque. It’s like GAN is exploring all the possibilities of the medium. Notice the little triangle shapes running down the right side? They make me think of flags or pennants, like this is a celebration. GAN was part of a generation of artists exploring abstraction as a way to express inner states, and you can see the influence of other artists like Picasso and Braque, but with his own personal twist. I think about Marsden Hartley, another painter who used abstraction to capture something deep and personal. It’s like they’re having a conversation across time.