Abstraction 1941

Arthur Beecher Carles made this untitled abstraction with oil on canvas, and it’s a trip. Just look at how the paint is slathered on, thick and juicy. The colors are bold, almost clashing, but somehow they find a way to play nice. It’s like Carles was wrestling with the paint, pushing it around until it gave him what he wanted. There's a big blue form in the middle ground with floating orbs inside, surrounded by a storm of reds, greens, and purples. The black lines act like scaffolding, holding the whole thing together. See how the texture of the paint creates its own kind of light and shadow. It’s all about the physicality of the medium, the way the paint sits on the surface. This reminds me of Marsden Hartley, who was also trying to find a way to express something beyond the visible world. Art’s not about answers, it's all about the questions.