Untitled (Herzmuster) 1965

Konrad Lueg made this ‘Untitled’ painting with what looks like house paint, a grid of colorful bulbous teardrops against a plain white background. It’s so simple, almost like a screen-printed textile design, but the hand of the artist peeks through. Look at the colors. There’s something almost childlike in the red, yellow, blue, and green palette. Each teardrop sits distinct on the surface, you can sense that the paint has been dragged down, just a little, creating a feeling of movement. These aren’t perfect shapes but they make a perfect whole. I am reminded of the later work of Ellsworth Kelly, but these are less refined, messier, more intimate. It's a conversation across generations, where the simple mark of the artist is enough to convey so much.