Thirty 1937

Wassily Kandinsky made "Thirty," at an unknown date, using oil on canvas. Imagine Kandinsky, armed with his brush and a palette of black and white, setting out to create this checkerboard world. Each square is its own little universe, filled with squiggles and shapes. You can almost see him, hovering over the canvas, trying out different marks, wiping them away, and then diving back in with a fresh idea. I get the sense he was channeling some other artists in the process, such as Hilma af Klint and Agnes Martin. It feels like he's trying to invent a new alphabet here, maybe a language that only paintings can speak! Think of the simple grid: how the squares alternate, creating a push and pull, like a visual rhythm. Then, within each square, Kandinsky seems to be playing with different moods, like a mad scientist of the canvas! We can see how artists keep talking to each other across time. It is an ongoing, evolving conversation. And ultimately, isn’t that what painting is all about: embracing the unknown and letting the canvas lead the way?