Series I, No. 3 1918

Georgia O'Keeffe made this painting, Series I, No. 3, with oil paints, and it's a real trip how she builds up this form from the inside out. The colors are layered so smoothly it's like looking into a lightbulb. O'Keeffe's got this way of making color almost breathe on the canvas. I love how the teal snakes through the painting, a cool, confident line against all that warmth. It's like a dare, pulling you into the center of the swirl. It reminds me a little of Hilma af Klint, another painter who was chasing after these hidden structures. Both Klint and O'Keeffe weren’t trying to show us something we already know. Instead, they're inventing new ways of seeing.