Madchen am Meer 1973

Dieter Asmus made this print, 'Madchen am Meer', using saturated blues and warm tans. It looks like a flat world where she exists. I wonder if Asmus worked from a photograph or from memory. Maybe it's a combination of both. There is something about the way the figure has been rendered that feels rooted in observation, but then the flatness and colour of the space makes it feel dreamlike. It makes me think about those sun-drenched days in summer when you have that fuzzy sensation of being both fully present and somewhere else, where colours look more vibrant and intense. You can feel the sun on your skin. You retreat inwards. Maybe Asmus was trying to capture the feeling of one of those moments. It strikes me that all artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity.