Klänge Pl.04 1913

Wassily Kandinsky made this print, Klänge Pl.04, with woodcut in mind, carving shapes that would come together in a symphony of colour. It’s got this lovely abstract landscape feel, doesn’t it? Like a dream of a place, maybe from childhood? It has an almost playful approach to the use of color. I'm imagining him carving away at the block, figuring out how each mark and colour will sit next to each other. Look at that yellow winding shape, it almost looks like it is melting into the landscape. I'm curious about how Kandinsky might have been thinking about music while making this print, with the title "Klänge" meaning "sounds" in German. It reminds me of other abstract painters who explored the relationship between color, form, and musical composition, like Paul Klee. But that’s what art is all about, right? Artists riffing off each other, sometimes without even knowing it, creating this incredible, ongoing conversation across time.