Synthesis 1969

Alekos Kontopoulos painted this work, "Synthesis," layering geometric forms and muted colors, almost like he's building a world from scratch. There's a real joy in the making of it. Looking closely, the texture is key; see how the paint isn't trying to hide, but lets you in on the process? The surface has this kind of gritty feel, and you can almost see the individual strokes that Kontopoulos made. The translucent reds and greens bleed into the grays. Notice the sphere on the lower-left, how it seems to both float in front of, and become part of, the grid behind it? It’s all about the push and pull. It makes me think of early Cubist painters like Braque, or even the later, more architectural works of de Kooning, who were similarly smashing together forms and ideas. Ultimately, though, "Synthesis" is its own thing, an ongoing conversation between the artist and the canvas.