This watercolour is an exercise in balance and how a single point can disperse the energy of a composition if placed in the right position. The energy is generated by repetitive rhythms of form and an incremental ‘colour ladder’, the point is where these energies meet and achieve harmony. It is more of a visual essay than an aesthetic piece, yet it makes its point beautifully. Klee developed his approach to abstract art alongside his colleague Wassily Kandinsky. They exhibited their work together with Der Blaue Reiter and also taught together at the Bauhaus.
Klee approached abstraction as more of a visual exercise than a means to an end and used the approach to explore underlying theory. Though he produced many abstract compositions, he tended to use abstraction as a way of reducing reality to geometric and biomorphic forms, rather than replacing representation with total abstraction. In this he is a hub in the wheel of abstraction made up of geometric minimalism, compositional abstractions, cubism, dynamism, automatist and dream surrealism. Klee is a key to understanding the development of all these varied approaches.
MORE
Biography of Paul Klee and chronology of his works presented at Olga's abc Gallery
An extract about Klee from Shock of the New by Robert Hughes and selected works on-line at the Artchive
Click on the cover images below for more info about the books or to buy them...
Both are recommended reading for anyone interested in the life and works of Klee
No comments:
Post a Comment