Aaronskelken; arums 1929

Bart van der Leck made "Aaronskelken; arums" with what looks like a very limited palette and a commitment to flatness. It's almost like he's trying to see how little he can do and still make it work. I love the way the surface of the painting is built up with layers of white. This isn't smooth, slick minimalism. You can feel the texture, the little bumps and ridges where the brush has dragged the paint. Then, these tiny dashes of color, red, blue, yellow, like coded signals breaking up the monotony. There's a little red dot towards the bottom, and it makes me think of a full stop, or a tiny beating heart. Van der Leck’s reduction of shapes prefigures the work of Mondrian, yet this work feels different; somehow more grounded, imperfect, and human. It reminds us that art is a conversation, always building on what came before, but always with its own unique accent.