Composition néo-plastique no. 5 O 1926

Cesar Domela made Composition néo-plastique no. 5 O with a kind of clear-eyed confidence, like he was building something. The geometric abstraction and primary colors feel so thought out. It’s interesting to see where the black lines meet, some are thicker or thinner than others, a little wobbly up close, as if drawn by hand, slowly and carefully. This brings a human quality to an otherwise strict composition. I love how the red, yellow, and blue pop against the mostly white background. There is an area where the colors meet the black lines, and a small pool of black emerges. It's like the dark energy, the thing that holds everything together. Domela was part of this whole movement with Mondrian and others, trying to make a new kind of art for a new world. But, unlike Mondrian, Domela’s work has a kind of quirkiness. In a way, it anticipates the way that Blinky Palermo would later use geometry, with a twist. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation, playing with ideas.