Jurassic 1942

Willi Baumeister conjured ‘Jurassic’ with what looks like thick oil paint, layering and building the surface to create something ancient, like fossilized forms emerging from rock. I wonder what it was like for Baumeister to push and pull at this surface, to create these strange, glyph-like shapes. Maybe he was thinking about the earth's deep past, or maybe he was just playing with the paint, letting the shapes emerge from his subconscious. Either way, there’s something elemental about this painting; these silver-grey forms edged in gold, feel like they’ve been unearthed, waiting for us to decipher their meaning. Baumeister's work reminds me of other artists who use abstraction to tap into something primal, like cave paintings or ancient symbols. It’s like he’s having a conversation with the history of art, reaching back to the very origins of mark-making. Ultimately, ‘Jurassic’ is less about dinosaurs and more about the enduring power of painting to evoke mystery and wonder, inviting us to contemplate the unknown.