Synchromy No. 6 1914

Morgan Russell made "Synchromy No. 6" with oil on canvas. I see an image that is built up from a series of flat planes and polygons. The paint has a crusty, almost cake-like texture, sitting on the surface in opaque slabs of color. Look at how each shape is so deliberately outlined, so meticulously set apart from its neighbors by bold, black lines. It’s like Russell is determined to freeze-frame every single step of his process, not wanting to blend or blur anything. The reds are particularly bold, anchoring the composition with a fiery energy. It brings to mind the work of Marsden Hartley, who also grappled with how to construct feeling and meaning through the arrangement of color and form. What Russell offers, though, is a chance to think about art-making not as a search for answers, but as an embrace of endless questions. It’s like he’s saying, "Here's what I'm trying, but who knows where it will lead?"