Painting is not only a visual art, but also a sensory one. Artists use color and texture to convey emotions, ideas, and impressions, and to evoke a reaction in the viewer. Color and texture can affect all the senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as well as a person’s psychological state.

Modern Masters: Experiments with Color and Texture in Art

“The artist sees not only beauty in nature, but also strives to transfer his soul to the canvas,” Paul Klee

 

 

In art, color is not just a visual element, but a real language that can communicate with our feelings and inner world. In this study, we will delve deeper into the mysterious world of color and consider how its palette affects our emotions, physiology and perception. From cool shades reminiscent of the tranquility of the night sky to warm shades that evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort - colors not only decorate the canvas, but also fill it with meaning. Let's discover the secrets of this vibrant art together, starting with how color affects our senses.

How color affects feelings

Color is one of the main elements of painting, which determines the mood, atmosphere and composition of the work. Color can be cold or warm, bright or dull, contrasting or harmonious. Each color has its own meaning and symbolism, which can vary depending on culture, history and personal experience.

Color also affects human physiological and psychological processes. For example, the color red is associated with blood, fire, passion, danger and aggression, and can increase blood pressure, heart rate and adrenaline. Blue is associated with water, sky, calm, trust and intelligence, and can reduce blood pressure, heart rate and stress. Green is associated with nature, growth, health and harmony, and can improve vision, mood and creativity.

Color can also affect senses other than vision. For example, color can evoke associations with certain sounds, smells, tastes and sensations. This phenomenon is called synesthesia - the ability to perceive one type of stimulus as another. Some artists, such as Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Vincent van Gogh, had synesthesia and used color to convey their musical, olfactory or tactile impressions.

How texture affects the senses

Texture is another important element of painting that determines the physical and visual characteristics of the surface. The texture can be smooth or rough, soft or hard, smooth or uneven, matte or shiny. Texture can also be real or illusory, that is, created using a brush, mastic, collage or other techniques.

Texture affects the sense of touch, which is one of the most primary and important senses for humans. The sense of touch allows a person to explore the world around them, obtain information about the shape, size, temperature, humidity and pressure of objects, and also feel closeness, contact and emotional connection with other people. Texture can also influence a person’s psychological state, causing feelings of comfort, coziness, safety, or vice versa, discomfort, anxiety, disgust.

Texture can also affect senses other than touch. For example, texture may evoke certain sounds, smells, tastes, and colors. It is also associated with the phenomenon of synesthesia, which allows a person to perceive one type of stimulus as another. Some artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Henri Matisse, used texture to convey their sound, aroma or taste sensations.

How color and texture create meaningful impact

Color and texture are not just decorative elements of painting, but also powerful means of expression and communication. Artists use color and texture to create a meaningful impact on the viewer, which may be aesthetic, emotional, intellectual or spiritual.

Color and texture can:

• Create the illusion of space, depth, volume, movement and light.
• Emphasize focus, emphasis, rhythm, balance and contrast in a composition.
• Convey the mood, atmosphere, temperature and time context of the work.
• Express the personality, character, mood and emotions of the artist and the characters depicted.
• Symbolize the ideas, concepts, values and views of the artist and his era.
• Interact with the viewer, attracting his attention, causing interest, curiosity, surprise, pleasure or rejection.
• Stimulate the imagination, associations, memories and fantasies of the viewer.
• Influence the physical and mental state of the viewer, influencing his feelings and perceptions.
• Color and texture are a universal language that can be understood and appreciated by people of different cultures, ages and backgrounds.

In the world of painting, where color and texture are already powerful means of expression, there is a surprising phenomenon that adds new dimensions of perception - synesthesia. This is a kind of interaction of senses in which one type of stimulus causes the perception of another. The synaesthetic experience in art takes it to a new level, enriching the visual impact by involving other senses.

Synesthesia in Art: When Colors Merge with Music"

"I love to draw. I feel that there is something life-giving in it, like words, music, color," Vincent van Gogh

 

 

Synesthesia is a special way of perception when some states, phenomena, concepts and symbols are involuntarily endowed with additional qualities: color, smell, texture, taste, geometric shape, sound tonality.

There are two general forms of synesthesia: projection and associative synesthesia. People who project see real colors and shapes precisely at the moment of the stimulus, as is usually assumed for synesthesia; associators will feel a very strong and involuntary connection between the stimulus and the sensation it evokes. For example, in a common form of chromesthesia (phonopsia) (sound, color), the projector may hear a trumpet and see an orange triangle in space, while the associate may hear a trumpet and firmly think that it sounds “orange.”

Some synesthetes report how they were unaware that their experiences were unusual until they realized that other people were not, while others say they feel as if they have been keeping a secret their entire lives. . The automatic and inexpressible nature of the synesthetic experience means that the confusion of feelings may not seem unusual. This involuntary and consistent essence helps define synesthesia as a real experience. Most synesthetes report that their experiences are pleasant or neutral, although, in rare cases, synesthetes report that they can lead to some sensory overload.

Although synesthesia is often portrayed in popular media as a medical condition or neurological disorder, many synesthetes themselves do not perceive synesthesia as a hindrance. Moreover, some report synesthesia as a gift, a hidden feeling that they do not want to lose. Most synesthetes learned about their different way of perceiving as children. Some have learned how to apply this ability in everyday life and at work. Synesthetes use their abilities to remember names and phone numbers, perform mental math, and more complex creative activities such as visual arts, music, and theater.

Despite the commonalities that allow the phenomenon of synesthesia to be broadly defined, personal experiences vary greatly. This diversity was noted in early studies of synesthesia. For example, some synesthetes report that vowels are more colored, others report that consonants are more colored. Self-reports, interviews, and autobiographical notes from synesthetes reveal a huge variety of synesthesia types, intensities, awareness of the differences in perception of synesthetes and non-synesthetes, and ways of using synesthesia in work, creative processes, and everyday life.

The vast majority of synesthetes are inclined to participate in creative activities. It has been suggested that personal development of cognitive and perceptual abilities in addition to cultural background leads to variation in awareness and practice of the phenomenon of synesthesia.

Famous artists who have used synesthesia include the following:

1. Vassily Kandinsky is a Russian artist and art theorist, one of the founders of abstract art. He had sound-color synesthesia, meaning he saw colors when listening to music or sounds. He tried to convey his synesthetic impressions in his pictorial compositions, which he called “sounding paintings.” He also wrote about the relationship between color, form and sound in works such as On the Spiritual in Art and The Point and the Line on the Plane.
2. Paul Klee is a Swiss artist of German origin, one of the leading representatives of expressionism, cubism and surrealism. He also had sound-color synesthesia and was also a musician who played the violin and piano. He believed that music and painting had much in common, and sought to create “visible music” in his works. He used various colors, shapes, lines and symbols to convey his musical feelings and moods.
3. Vincent van Gogh is a Dutch post-impressionist artist and one of the most influential and famous artists in history. He had tactile-color synesthesia, meaning he perceived colors when touching objects or fabrics. He was also sensitive to colors in nature and light, and used bright and contrasting colors to convey his emotions and impressions of the world around him. He wrote about his synesthetic experiences in his letters to his brother Theo and others.

In the history of art, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Vincent van Gogh stand among those artists whose creative worlds were permeated with synesthetic perception. Their unusual abilities to see colors when listening to music, or feel shades when touching objects, added new layers of depth and meaning to the world of art.

Weaving sound and color experiences into his canvases, Wassily Kandinsky created works that could be heard, and not just seen. Paul Klee, combining music and painting, opened the door to the world of “visible music”. Vincent van Gogh, feeling color when touched, transferred his tactile perception to the canvas, making his works real “dots” to the viewer.

These great masters gave the world not only paintings, but also experiences in which viewers can feel the colors, hear the music and feel the warmth and cold of the artist’s brush. Synesthetic perception became a source of inspiration for them, and for us - an opportunity to look into the depths of sensual art, where colors become notes and textures become musical accompaniment, creating unique melodies on the canvas and in our hearts.

Our catalog presents the amazing world of abstractions, where colors, shapes and textures come together to create outstanding works of art. From expressive brushstrokes that create dynamic compositions to harmonious abstract lines that inspire the imagination, each abstraction is a unique guide to the world of artistic expression.

Our artists rise above the limitations of figurativeness, offering viewers the opportunity to immerse themselves in abstract forms and experience the power of pure expression. These paintings do not just decorate space - they open doors to the world of associations, fantasies and personal experiences.

The mesmerizing colors, incredible configurations and energy radiating from each piece make the abstractions in our catalog an integral part of the collection for art lovers who are looking for something unique and inspiring. We invite you to immerse yourself in this exciting world of abstraction, where each canvas is an exceptional opportunity to reveal new facets of artistic perception.