Daylabourers with Wheelbarrows 1927

Vilmos Aba-Novak made 'Daylabourers with Wheelbarrows' using paint. The brushstrokes are super visible, like quick pats of color all mashed together. It's clear that the act of painting was just as important as whatever he was painting. Look at the way he’s built up the paint, like he’s sculpting the scene with his brush. Notice how he laid down the blues and yellows of the sky, just scrubbing the paint on the canvas, and then those little marks and flicks of red and brown for the laborers. Each stroke is like a physical record of his movement. The whole thing has this dreamy quality to it, like a memory or a feeling more than a literal scene. This reminds me of Marsden Hartley, who was also interested in folk subjects. Ultimately, Aba-Novak shows us that art is about the ongoing dialogue between the artist, their materials, and the world around them.