Composition 1931

Stuart Davis made this monochrome print, Composition, and well, it's a party of marks! It’s so satisfying to see an artist unafraid to mix it up – grids, dots, stripes, and sketchy areas all getting along. This piece is all about texture. The dots feel dense and grounded, while the grids seem to float a little, right? The hand near the top right reminds me of Picasso and Braque, those early cubists who were also interested in line and form. Look at the way Davis uses the lines to create the illusion of volume. It's kind of incredible, a real feat. The joy of a piece like this is that it's more of a question than an answer, you know? And there's something so generous about an artist willing to share that with us. I see echoes of his interest in jazz, too – the way the different elements improvise together, it’s like visual music! You might want to check out the work of Patrick Caulfield, too – he's another painter who does great things with flat planes and bold lines.