London 1959

Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid made “London” with oil paint probably sometime in the mid-20th century. Look at how those hazy blocks of color, mostly orange and blue, were softly laid down! You can almost see her thinking, feeling her way through the city's atmosphere. It’s like she’s capturing the mood of London more than its actual buildings. The surface is alive with texture. The paint isn’t too thick, but it has a kind of chalky, dry quality. Notice how the orange is scumbled allowing the weave of the canvas to come through in places. There's a section in the upper part of the painting where the blues and oranges meet, creating this beautiful, blurry edge. It’s like the colors are breathing into each other. Thinking about her overall body of work, Zeid’s "London" feels like a quieter moment compared to her more intense, geometric abstractions. But you can still see her willingness to let the painting evolve, to let the colors and textures lead the way. It reminds me a little of some of Agnes Martin’s softer grids, where the feeling is more important than the structure.