Relief, Clock 1914

Jean Arp's 'Relief, Clock' is a playful little world made of shaped wood painted in matte colours. It's like stepping into a dream where forms float freely, unburdened by gravity or logic. Imagine Arp in his studio, carefully selecting each piece of wood, maybe found scraps, coaxing them into biomorphic shapes. The clock suggests a world ticking by, yet these forms seem timeless, almost prehistoric. There's a yellow bone, pools of water and land, and smooth white bowling pins dotted around the sphere. I love how Arp's work dances between abstraction and figuration. The colours, earthy reds, greens and blues, feel both grounded and dreamy. Each gesture is so deliberate, so full of intention, yet there's also a sense of spontaneity, as if the forms simply emerged from the material itself. Arp was so prolific and he really set a precedent for artists to come. I think he and artists like Miro and Kandinsky are constantly whispering to me – and each other – across time and space. The conversation never stops, it just keeps evolving.