Aircraft Plant 1945

Ralston Crawford made this painting, Aircraft Plant, using simplified shapes to depict a factory, but also so much more. Look how he's taken his colours right to the edge of the shapes, no messing about. There are no painterly details, just precise geometric shapes and the straightest of lines, all coming together to create this super clean image. It's so architectural, almost like a blueprint. The colour palette is restricted; shades of blue, white, and brown, each block of colour is applied thinly and evenly, which gives the painting a flat, graphic quality, yet the overlapping forms create depth. The black lines, like scaffolding, crisscross the surface, disrupting the flat blocks of colour. It's reminiscent of the Constructivists, who, like Crawford, saw art as a form of engineering. It's a reminder that art, like architecture, involves building, constructing, and piecing together different elements to create something new. The painting invites multiple interpretations, allowing the viewer to see the factory not just as a physical place, but as a symbol of modernity.