Fiordo 1943

Xul Solar made this otherworldly painting, Fiordo, with watercolor, maybe with some gouache too. The ochre and brown palette is punctuated by ladders that lead up to… well, who knows? I’m really feeling the strange architectural forms and the figure standing in the doorway – waiting, watching, lingering at the threshold. I like to imagine the artist's mind while they made this piece. Do you think he was conjuring up an alien landscape or channeling a spiritual vision? I bet the artist was in a state of flow and wonder, completely absorbed by the act of bringing this imagined world into being. It reminds me of Paul Klee’s dreamscapes. There's something so freeing about how painters play with perspective and form. It’s like they're saying, "Hey, reality is overrated – let’s build something new together." Painting invites us to embrace the unexpected, find beauty in the imperfect, and connect with the messy, beautiful, and unpredictable nature of being human.