New Harmony 1936

Paul Klee made this painting, New Harmony, with oil and ink on canvas. The colors feel earthy, like a warm hug. It's a grid, but not uptight; each square is its own little world. You can almost feel Klee experimenting, letting the colors breathe and blend. The surface has this wonderful texture, a kind of soft grittiness, which makes you want to reach out and touch it. The paint isn't too thick, but you can still see the individual strokes, like he was coaxing the image into existence. Look at the red squares, how they pop against the muted greens and browns. It's like a little jolt of energy in the middle of a calm landscape. Klee reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, in how he uses simple forms to create these complex, meditative spaces. But where Martin is all about precision, Klee embraces the wabi-sabi of imperfection, reminding us that art, like life, is always a work in progress.