View of the bridge 1938

Aleksandra Ekster made this painting, "View of the bridge," sometime in the early 20th century, probably with oil on canvas. Look at the way the buildings and foliage are constructed from flattened planes of colour, how Ekster uses form to create rhythm. It reminds me of Cezanne, but with a twist. There’s something so physical about the painting’s surface. The colour is applied thinly, in discrete areas which emphasize the shape of the brush, but there is also some lovely impasto, especially in the treatment of the trees at the top of the composition. I find myself drawn to the bridge itself, how the thin horizontal lines float above the pool of colour below. It’s like a symbol of connection, but also of precariousness. Ekster was associated with the Russian avant-garde, and you can see some of that sensibility here. Think of her as a forerunner of artists like Lois Dodd, who use simple forms to evoke a sense of place, without getting bogged down in too much detail. It's like she's saying, "Here's a bridge, here's a town, now what are you going to do with it?" Art is like that, an invitation to explore.