Construction with Blue Shape 1969

Alexander Bogen made this painting, "Construction with Blue Shape," in 1959. Look at how the planes of color tilt and push against each other, creating this kind of unsettled, dynamic space. The brushwork is pretty direct, right? It's not about hiding the hand but showing the build-up, the decisions made along the way. I love how that single blue shape anchors the whole composition, a cool, sharp note against the warmer grays and reds. Notice how the paint gets thicker in some areas, like around that blushing pink section, almost like Bogen was sculpting with the paint. For me, this piece is like a conversation between abstraction and representation. You could almost imagine these shapes as architectural fragments, or maybe even figures in a landscape. Bogen's work reminds me a little of early Diebenkorn, that same push and pull between structure and feeling. And, like all good paintings, it leaves you with more questions than answers, which is exactly how it should be.