Runner 1934

Willi Baumeister made this, Runner, without a specific date, with an incredible sense of graphic boldness. The silhouette of a figure is caught mid-stride. It's all about reduction, distilling movement to its barest essence. I love how Baumeister uses just one tone against a pale ground to create this dynamic form. There's a tension between the flat, graphic quality and the implied volume of the runner's body. Notice how the shapes are not quite closed, edges bleed or taper off which creates a sense of incompleteness, implying motion and speed. The texture in the grey is subtle, but you can see it, hinting at the material of the print. It's this quiet detail that gives the piece a handmade feel, a contrast to its otherwise clean lines. Baumeister reminds me a bit of Joan Miró, another artist who wasn't afraid to play with abstraction and the human form. Both artists invite us to see the world in new ways, to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.