País Rojo Teti 1949

Xul Solar made *País Rojo Teti* in 1949, we think, but the date is not precise. It’s done with watercolor, and the colours kind of float on the surface of the paper, a bit like a dream. The first thing I notice is the texture, it is so smooth and layered, built up from many different levels. Look at those hills. The lines are soft and blurred, smudged here and there in a way that feels both intentional and casual. There's an area, near the middle, where a ladder runs up one of the red hills. The ladder is painted with such precision, each rung distinct, contrasting with the organic form of the hill itself. It's a beautiful moment, that balance of precision and looseness. There's an otherworldly quality to the piece which makes me think of other artists who blended abstraction with figuration, like Hilma af Klint. But in the end, it is that ambiguity, that invitation to explore, that makes art endlessly fascinating.