Untitled (Heavy Snowfall) c. 1939

Lena Gurr made this image, Untitled (Heavy Snowfall), on a sheet, but when, we do not know. The colours are really muted, the blues and reds seem to mix and create a nice harmony, but there's something very interesting about the way she's dealt with the negative space, leaving portions of the paper untouched. It's like the paper itself is part of the scene, the stark whiteness amplifying the feeling of fresh snow, it's a reminder that artmaking is a process. I think about how this physicality shapes our emotional experience, and the conceptual idea of the work. If you look at the horses, you can see she's really broken down the forms, not trying to be super realistic but instead capturing the essence of their movement and energy. The way the paint is applied in these short strokes, especially on their bodies, it’s almost like the snow itself is part of their muscles, like the cold has become a part of them. Gurr reminds me a bit of Milton Avery, another artist who was all about simplifying forms and using color in unexpected ways. What I find so appealing about Gurr is that she embraces ambiguity, leaving us with a feeling, an impression, rather than a definitive statement.