Untitled 1959

Leo Leuppi made this untitled painting with an awareness of the process of art making. The blue, yellow, and grey geometric grid is disrupted by bold black lines that seem to drip with intention. Look at how the paint is applied. It's not trying to hide anything, it's very matter of fact, the colours are almost translucent and sit within defined shapes. The texture isn't overworked, yet the black lines have their own depth, they’re built up from layers of paint. Notice the subtle variations within the blacks, suggesting an almost sculptural quality. It's as if Leuppi is inviting us to witness the act of creation itself. You could see a conversation with Paul Klee in the way Leuppi uses colour and line to evoke a sense of playful abstraction, but there is also something very personal about the way Leuppi uses the language of abstraction to create his own visual world. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask along the way.