Stars Bridge (Abstract Composition) 1919

Walter Dexel made this dynamic abstract composition, Stars Bridge, a black ink print, in 1919. It’s like he’s built a whole world out of sharp shapes and stark contrasts. Look at how the black ink sits so firmly on the page, each shape defined and distinct, yet somehow fitting together like puzzle pieces. The texture of the paper peeks through, giving the whole thing a tactile quality, as if you could feel the artist's hand moving across the surface. My eye keeps getting drawn to that jagged shape near the top left – it looks like teeth or a staircase, maybe both? It sets off a rhythm that bounces around the whole composition. Dexel's work reminds me a bit of El Lissitzky, that Russian Constructivist. Both were trying to capture the energy of a new world through abstraction. But unlike Lissitzky's sleek geometry, Dexel's got a raw, almost chaotic feel. It’s a great reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing experiment with form and meaning.