Composition 1956

Afro Basaldella, or Afro as he was known, made this watercolor abstract composition in 1956. Look at the way the colors melt into each other; see how the paper peeks through the washes. Watercolor is such a fluid medium, it’s all about letting go and letting the paint do its thing, like jazz. The painting feels open and airy, with these little explosions of red, a touch of green, and then the whole thing tied together with these confident, dark brown lines. There’s a real push and pull here, between the wet, dreamy parts and the sharp, graphic strokes. Notice that dark brown line in the upper right corner, how it seems to be holding the composition together, but also pushing it apart? I think of someone like Joan Mitchell looking at this, and taking the energy of the gesture, but blowing it up to an enormous scale. It’s like Afro is whispering a secret, and Mitchell is shouting it from the rooftops! Art is just a big conversation, after all.