Improvisation 4 1909

Wassily Kandinsky made Improvisation 4, in Russia, with paint—obviously. This is how painting used to be done! Anyway, the blues and greens, the way they push up against the reds and yellows, it’s like he’s not just painting what he sees, but feeling his way through the colors. Look how the paint is laid on, thick in some spots, almost like he’s sculpting with it, thin in others, where the canvas peeks through. There's this one bold stroke of green, slashing across the top right, it doesn't quite connect to anything, but it brings the whole composition to life. It’s so physical, so immediate, you can almost see him making the gesture. It’s like he’s trying to capture a fleeting moment, a musical note, or a feeling. Kandinsky reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell—both were trying to find a way to paint the invisible. Painting isn't about making something fixed or solid, but about embracing that ambiguity.