Shapes on Blue Background 1991

Alexander Bogen created ‘Shapes on Blue Background’ using oil on canvas. Bogen was a Polish-Israeli artist who survived the Holocaust. He was an active member of the partisan resistance, and this no doubt had a profound effect on his art. ‘Shapes on Blue Background’ was created in 1959, a time when abstract expressionism was becoming increasingly popular in the United States. In the wake of the Second World War, many artists were searching for new ways to express the trauma and chaos of the modern world. Looking at the interplay between dark and light, one wonders whether these are the shapes of memories. The composition, with its flat blocks of colour, reflects the trauma of war with the contrast emphasizing the fractured nature of memory in the wake of such horror. Historical research, including archival documents and personal accounts, can help us better understand the context in which this painting was made and to consider its place within the broader history of 20th-century art.