Man and Woman 1926

Janos Mattis-Teutsch painted this piece, Man and Woman, with what looks like oil on canvas. The forms are simplified, almost geometric, but the colours are soft, especially that intense, dreamy blue. I really love how the bodies are presented. The central form is built up with blocks of white that are so solid they almost become a sculpture. It reminds me of paper cut-outs, or even a memory being constructed through layers of thought. Look at the edges, sharp and defined, but also softened by the brushstrokes. It’s as if the painting is caught between abstraction and figuration, a back and forth that keeps you looking. I am reminded of early twentieth century abstraction. There is something of Hilma af Klint in this painting, but also an echo of the simplified forms and flattened space that you see in the work of Fernand Léger. But I think there is also something very unique and intuitive at play. This is a painting that feels both deeply considered and wonderfully off-the-cuff.