Soccer Field 1934

Willi Baumeister made this 'Soccer Field' painting, and it looks like it came into being through layers, shifts, and a little bit of intuition. I'm thinking about what it was like for Baumeister, wrestling with the figures, the muted palette – sandy browns, off-whites, and shadowy blacks, trying to get that feeling of movement just right. See how the paint isn't too thick, but it’s not watery either? It's like he's letting the surface breathe, letting the figures emerge from the ground. The guy on the right feels different from the others; the circles of white might indicate a building of form or the imprint of repeated touch. It reminds me of other painters grappling with the figure, like Léger or even de Chirico, but with a more playful energy. Like all artists, Baumeister’s having a conversation with painting itself, and with other artists, finding his own way to express something essential about being alive, being in motion. And to me, that's what makes art so exciting, it invites us into that conversation, too.