Three Colours Surrounded by Equal Amounts of Black and White 1970

Max Bill made this painting of three colours surrounded by equal amounts of black and white, and what strikes me is the clarity, the hard-edged geometry, and the play of colour. I think his work demonstrates that artmaking is as much about thinking as it is about feeling. The colours are flat, almost like blocks of coloured paper, very deliberately placed to create this balancing act. What I really notice is the surface, how smooth it is. It almost hides the hand of the artist; it's like Bill wanted the idea to come first, and for the execution to disappear. The title tells us everything - but the simplicity is deceptive, it makes you think about how colours interact and affect our senses. This idea of a perfectly balanced and rational composition relates to the Bauhaus movement and artists like Josef Albers. But unlike Albers, who was fascinated with colour perception, Bill seems more interested in pure, mathematical relationships. It's a conversation about how much emotion to put into art and what happens when you leave it out.