Composition (Birds) 1964

Maggie Laubser created "Composition (Birds)" using oil paint, featuring stylized birds that command the canvas. Laubser employs bold color and simplified forms that create a dynamic yet harmonious composition. The artist arranges the birds in a manner that emphasizes shape and color over realistic representation. Notice how each bird is reduced to its essential form: elongated necks, streamlined bodies, and angular wings. The juxtaposition of vibrant yellows, oranges, blues, and greens creates a lively visual rhythm. The spatial relationships between the birds are ambiguous, flattening the perspective and pushing the figures to the foreground. This technique destabilizes traditional notions of depth and space. The interplay between abstraction and representation invites a deeper engagement with the symbolic potential of form and color. The artwork challenges the viewer to construct meaning beyond the literal depiction of the subject, inviting a discourse around the nature of seeing and interpreting the world.