Tunis – Strand 1905

Kandinsky made this painting of a beach in Tunis with oil on canvas. Look at the way he laid down the paint, thick strokes sitting right next to each other – you can practically feel the texture of the sand. It's like he's not just painting a scene, but building it, one tactile mark at a time. I find myself drawn to the lower part of the painting, where the blues and sandy browns meet. The surface almost shimmers as a result of the various hues. The paint feels really physical here, and I can picture him using a palette knife almost, dragging and layering the paint, scraping bits away. There’s something gutsy about it. I think of someone like Guston, who similarly made his painting so physical and direct. To me, this piece demonstrates that art thrives in its ambiguities and that it is an ongoing discussion across generations.