Wooden Figure 1935 - 1942

Carl Strehlau made this "Wooden Figure" using what looks like watercolor. The colors are muted—red, blue, and skin tones—almost like a memory. There’s an intriguing sense of flatness, even though it’s a figure. Look at the blue drape over the figure's shoulder, and notice how the color pools and gathers, creating a sense of depth but also remaining stubbornly on the surface. It’s like Strehlau is inviting us to consider the act of seeing itself. Are we looking at a sculpture, or a representation of a sculpture? The missing arm adds to this feeling of something lost or incomplete. It reminds me of the way Guston would leave areas of raw canvas showing, not as a mistake, but as a way of revealing the artifice of the whole thing. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, full of questions rather than answers.