Mechano-Factura 1924

Henryk Berlewi made this painting, Mechano-Factura, with an interest in industrializing art. Imagine him, brush in hand, carefully plotting each square and line, maybe with a T-square and a compass. The color palette is tight: red, black, grey, and white. The surface seems smooth and even, almost like it was printed. Look at how the squares and lines are arranged in a grid, like a machine blueprint. This is where Berlewi was coming from. He wanted to bring art into the age of industry, to create something precise and orderly. The repetitive forms and flat colors echo the aesthetics of machines and mass production. But there’s also something playful about it, the way he mixes up the patterns and creates a sense of visual rhythm. Berlewi’s work reminds us that even in the most rational systems, there’s always room for creativity and expression. He's in conversation with the Constructivists and the De Stijl group but definitely doing his own thing.