Composition 1920

Here is Janos Mattis-Teutsch’s wild, swirling ‘Composition’. Imagine him laying down these brushstrokes – thick with feeling, as if he's trying to catch something elusive. There’s a cool blue backdrop, but the energy comes from these warmer colors spiraling upwards. Is that a dark blue river snaking through? Or a kind of spine holding all the colors together? The texture is amazing; you can see how each color pushes against the others. It reminds me of Kandinsky's early abstractions, but with its own raw, expressionistic edge. What was he thinking when he made this? Maybe just letting the colors speak, letting the brush lead the way. The more I look, the more it feels like a conversation between colors. And isn’t that what painting is all about?