Veld en huis 1918

This is Gustave De Smet’s ‘Veld en huis’, made in 1918. Look at how the shapes emerge out of these blocks of dark and light. The whole thing reads like a shifting, emerging puzzle. I can imagine De Smet standing here, wrestling with the wood, cutting away what isn’t needed. What was he thinking when he made this? Was he frustrated with the forms, or did they come to him easily? I see how he’s using the black to flatten everything, to push the field and house together into one plane. I love the raw simplicity here: it reminds me a little of some of the German Expressionists. I'm thinking of Kirchner and Heckel. All of us artists, we’re in this ongoing conversation, you know, inspiring each other across time. Painting is a form of expression that embraces ambiguity, inviting multiple readings and meaning. It makes room for us to bring our own stuff to the party.