Untitled 1948

Perle Fine made this painting with pigment and brush sometime in the 20th century, and right away, I’m struck by the confident redness of it all. It's like she dove right in, embracing the mess and the energy. Looking closer, there's this constellation of shapes floating in the red sea, like little islands of thought. The surface feels smooth, almost like she wanted to hide the struggle, but the scratchy lines give it away. They’re like diagrams, maybe of feelings, connecting one shape to another. That almost-oval in the middle, with the zigzag lines inside, feels like a central point, a place where all the energy meets. It makes me think of other artists, like Hilma af Klint, who were also trying to map out inner landscapes. In the end, this piece is a reminder that art is just one big, messy conversation, and there's no right or wrong way to join in.