Matka 1937

Mikuláš Galanda made "Matka" sometime around 1938, using ink and watercolor in a way that feels both immediate and deeply considered. Look at the confidence of the lines and how the colour is used sparingly, almost like a code. The surface has a beautiful, raw quality. You can see the way the watercolor bleeds slightly into the paper. The black ink that defines the figure is confident and unwavering. See how the red highlights pop against the muted background, and the little red dot where a blush would be. These colours feel playful, but they also create this strange tension. Notice how the marks almost vibrate with emotion. Galanda's work reminds me a bit of Joan Miró, in the sense that both artists embraced simplicity to convey profound feeling. It's this ongoing conversation of how we can make something from almost nothing, and how that something can be everything.