Komposisjon II 1945

Jakob Weidemann made this painting called Komposisjon II with oil paint and a brush, or maybe even a rag, at some point in his life. The painting feels like a site of experimentation. It is like the artist is searching for something, maybe even finding it. The painting is full of pale blues and ochres and moves into darker blacks and browns. I can imagine Weidemann stepping back, squinting, and then going in again, swiping and layering. What was he thinking? What was he looking at? Perhaps another painting? Or maybe something he saw in the world? This type of abstracted figuration reminds me of Picasso and Braque but with a Scandinavian twist. There’s a certain coolness here. It reminds me how artists are in an ongoing conversation. The physicality of the paint itself is so important; it is how Weidemann communicates the feeling and the searching. It opens up so many possibilities.