Roddexercis 1917

Gosta Adrian-Nilsson made "Roddexercis" with oil paint, and I can just imagine him at his easel, the brush dancing as the composition came to life! The canvas is a diamond shape; at the bottom are some white boats reflected in the water. Above them rise bold, confident red verticals, like chimneys. There is a real push and pull between figuration and abstraction. The colors are muted but luminous, reminding me a little of Marsden Hartley's military paintings, or maybe Lyonel Feininger's crystalline cities. I wonder what Adrian-Nilsson was thinking as he built up these layers, these blocks of color and form? The texture looks smooth, as if the paint was applied thinly, allowing the underlying structure to peek through. Painting always feels like a conversation with other painters, both past and present. It's an ongoing dialogue, a way of seeing, thinking, and feeling our way through the world.