Midsummer Night 1968

Jacob Kainen made this gouache painting, Midsummer Night, in 1968. Look at these bold, flat areas of colour bumping up against each other - it’s like a game of colour-tetris! The paint is applied thinly, almost translucent in places, allowing the paper's surface to breathe through. The blues, reds and yellows aren’t blended, but layered, creating depth without losing that graphic punch. Notice that the brushstrokes are confident, almost playful. See how that big yellow circle seems to hover behind those mountain-like shapes? It feels like a stage set, doesn’t it? Kainen’s work often explored these kinds of abstracted landscapes. He was really interested in the dialogue between representation and abstraction, which reminds me a little of Milton Avery's work. There’s a similar interest in paring down a scene to its essential shapes and colours. Both artists invite us to see the world not as it is, but as it could be – a place of endless possibility and visual delight.