Meditation 

Curator: Right now, we’re looking at Alexej von Jawlensky’s oil painting, "Meditation." Editor: My first thought? Intense. It’s not serene, despite the title. The colors—purples, reds, and blacks—feel almost aggressive. It looks like something smoldering, something deeply felt. Curator: Jawlensky wasn’t aiming for tranquility, I think. These "Meditations," created later in his life, were a way for him to explore spiritual depth through simplification of form and bold color. There's a search for the eternal in them, I imagine. It is almost like capturing a presence or essence more than rendering something realistic. Editor: Absolutely. The portrait-like structure is almost confrontational. The heavy brushstrokes feel burdened. How do you interpret his choice of these intense colors? It can almost look religious to me, it’s got almost Byzantine undertones. Curator: Color, for Jawlensky, was the key. He wanted to strip away the unnecessary to get to the core feeling, the emotion that a face, or perhaps even a soul, emanates. There’s a rejection of materialism in favor of the transcendent. The simplification here evokes something very raw, immediate—it’s almost a visual scream. Editor: Do you think Jawlensky, perhaps unconsciously, captured a fragment of what humanity shares and fears most? These paintings were produced on the eve of cataclysmic political change in the late 1930’s, with Germany soon after being plunged into war. Curator: The human element can be taken back to form, where, for example, a line of intense color represents more than it depicts, it’s a vessel for deeper understanding. Maybe by pushing us out of our comfort zones with these images, artists allow us to consider what changes can and must occur. I find these paintings incredibly hopeful. Editor: Hopeful and heavy, somehow. A challenging piece to engage with, but I think that makes it a worthwhile contemplation, wouldn't you agree? Curator: Agreed, and one you could visit time and time again. It’s one that keeps on giving back.