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Kandinsky Nudes: becoming the circle, square and triangle

Text by Michaela Mullin

There is nothing primary or basic, in general terms, about Ibsen’s “Three Kandinsky Nudes.” These homages to Wassily Kandinsky, however, do take up Bauhaus ideas of geometric shapes and color: Yellow triangle, Blue circle, Red square. Ibsen renders the human figure in these “inferred” forms, but with Kandinsky’s warnings in mind—that radical abstraction risks creating geometric ornament, to which Ibsen victoriously says, “I think here I proved [Kandinsky’s] point; I abstracted without negating.” This project began as an academic exercise, Ibsen notes, which she says offered an unexpected turn when she began addressing the color component to the figurative shape/sculptures. She uses acrylic and felt beneath the sitting figures to “hint” at the equivalent hue for each position.

These new works sit perfectly within Ibsen’s personal oeuvre, with its quandary or unease about the term “abstract art.” It is a dubious term that mandates a perceptual origin, which of course then throws every other term and ‘ism’ into question. She says, “I totally agree with Kandinsky’s conclusion: Realism=abstraction; Abstraction=realism.” Ibsen knows, however, that an investigation is never complete or over, so she keeps researching and exploring. The world is fortunate to view her process and culminations, from any distance.