Spiel und Gesetz II 1954

Leo Leuppi's "Spiel und Gesetz II" looks like it was made with gouache, maybe casein on paper. I imagine him carefully applying each color, each line, and each geometric shape with a fine brush. The color palette—blues, reds, and whites, all softened by the grey ground—creates a feeling of calm control, but also an unsettling sense of depth, like peering into an endless space. I wonder what he was thinking when he made this? Was he feeling playful or serious? The title suggests a tension between the two! The painting has a loose grid, and the meandering lines are so interesting. It is like a secret, a kind of personal map, and the soft texture feels like breath. The surface is almost alive. It reminds me of other early twentieth century abstract painters like Kandinsky and Klee, who were searching for ways to express inner worlds through form and color. Leuppi is part of an ongoing conversation about the possibilities of painting, a conversation that continues to inspire artists today.