Magical Space Forms 1951

Lorser Feitelson made this painting, Magical Space Forms, with oil paint and, presumably, a brush. The shapes here, like big, flat puzzle pieces, feel so solid and present, don’t they? I love how the deep purple sits back, making that cool blue really pop. Look closely, and you can see the brushstrokes in the purple area, horizontal and almost scrubbed in, while the blue feels smoother, like a calm, continuous gesture. That spiky blue shape on the right—it’s like a crown or maybe a weird, angular flower. It pushes upward, playing against the solid block of purple above it. I find myself wondering if Feitelson was inspired by the California landscape where he lived. This piece reminds me a bit of some of Marsden Hartley’s paintings, especially in the way those flat planes of color define space, it is an ongoing conversation through paint. I think art is always a bit of a mystery, isn't it? We can look and look, but there's always something just out of reach, shimmering in the space between the colors.