Carved Bobbin (Guru) 1935

Norman Lewis made this small painting titled "Carved Bobbin (Guru)" and signed it in 1935 using oil on board. I can imagine Lewis working on this; perhaps he started with a dark underpainting, then built up the form with layers of blues, purples, and blacks. This is the kind of head that you could easily get lost in: the contours are so smooth and suggestive, but it's the tension between abstraction and figuration that really grabs me. Is it a portrait, a sculpture, or an idea taking shape on the canvas? I guess it is all of those things. The gold geometric shapes near the top feels like a little jolt, a surprise, but also grounding it. This painting embodies a feeling, almost an attitude; it makes me think of other painters like Marsden Hartley or even someone like Sargent, all artists who have explored the space between representation and abstraction. Lewis is in conversation with them, and they are in conversation with him. It's a beautiful exchange, and that's what makes painting so special.