Stadtburg Kr. 1932

Paul Klee built up Stadtburg Kr. with a mosaic of little coloured squares that are kind of warm and earthy, like terra cotta and sandstone, but also unexpectedly cool grays and pinks. I can imagine Klee hunched over this thing, each stroke a tiny decision, a little world-building exercise. The grid itself seems to be breathing, gently warped and wonky. It's like he's saying, "Here's a city, but it's a city seen through a dream, or maybe through the eyes of a slightly tipsy architect.” Look at how each block of colour is ringed in black, like lead in stained glass. That kind of outlining—it gives the whole surface a shimmer, a vibrating energy. Klee was into making the invisible visible, and you can see him here experimenting with colour and form, pushing the boundaries between abstraction and figuration. It reminds me of some of the stuff that Agnes Martin was doing a bit later on, too. Painting is a conversation across time. These artists were asking questions, not giving answers. That’s what makes looking so exciting, don’t you think?