The Art of CONNETIX

The artwork, “Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles,” created by Wassily Kandinsky around 1913



The Painting Location: Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany



Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter, teacher and art theorist, a pioneer of abstract art.



Kandinsky created a grid composition (the “squares” of the title). Within each square, he painted concentric circles, meaning that the circles share a central point.



Circles represented ideas around progress, regeneration and renewal. The concentric circle holds several ancient meanings such as wholeness.



The vibrant colours were carefully chosen and applied, demonstrating his pursuit of pure abstraction and his interest in the emotional impact of colour and form. Each square presents a unique combination of colours, creating a harmonious but dynamic visual experience. The concentric circles symbolise a rhythmic continuity that echo throughout the entire piece.



We created a valentine’s version of Kandinsky’s ‘Squares with Concentric Circles’ using hearts instead of circles. My three sons each drew a heart on the square tiles using a chalk pen. I made the centre heart. We were really pleased with how this turned out.



Recreate



• A base tile
• 16 x coloured tiles
• Chalk pens

The artwork, “Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue” created by Piet Mondrian (1930)



Location: Kunsthaus Zürich , Switzerland



Piet Mondrian (1872- 1944) was a Dutch painter who was also an important leader in the development of modern abstract art.



He developed a new form of rigorous abstraction called Neo-Plasticism. This limited artwork to the use of straight, horizontal and vertical lines and basic primary colours. The vertical lines symbolise dynamic aspects of existence, while horizontal lines represented stability.



We used the painting as a base to design a similar piece of art. We made an outline on white paper and filled in the series of squares or rectangles with primary-coloured tiles such as red, blue and yellow. The black tiles were also used to create the black rectangles and squares.



Recreate



• A large sheet of paper/ whiteboard or white flooring.
• Red tiles
• Yellow tiles
• Blue tiles
• Black tiles
• Clear tiles – optional
• Tape or marker pens



Both Kandinsky and Mondrian feature Abstract art in which the visual language of shape, form, colour and lines are used to create compositions. The literal depictions of physical things in the visible world are not portrayed.

The artwork, “Woman wearing a beret and checkered dress” created by Pablo Picasso 1937



Location : Private collection



Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881 –1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker and theatre designer. Cubism is characterised by its radical approach to form and perspective. Breaking objects down into geometric shapes and presenting multiple viewpoints simultaneously. Picasso used cubism in many of his portraits.



We used CONNETIX to recreate Picasso style cubism portrait in which the features of the face could be moved to represent different perspectives.



Recreate



• A selection of tiles of various colours, shapes and sizes
• Approx 6 versions of eyes, eyebrows, mouth, nose and ears.
• Chalk pen
• Whiteboard or paper

The artwork “Dollar sign” created by Andy Warhol 1981



Location: Tate, London



Many of Andy Warhol compositions can be found at his museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.



Andy Warhol (1928 -1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. The pop art movement of the 20th century saw his work challenging convention and celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary, everyday objects and icons. Warhol used many techniques such as screen printing and painting, he transformed ordinary objects into vibrant, thought-provoking art that redefined the boundaries of creativity.



We used the pop art style of Andy Warhol to create a piece of art. Using the tiles as the background and contrasting them to a coloured object that was repeated on each tile. We used my son’s handprint for the recurring object.



Recreate



• Four large square tiles (different colours)
• Four cut outs of hands using the same four colours



These four art projects have been fun and thought provoking. They have helped to develop many skills during both the planning and production stages. We enjoyed discussing the style, the colours of the artwork and the artists themselves. We are planning a trip to our local Art Museum to do more research for the focus of our future CONNETIX art projects.



Everyday is a good day for art! Why not join in with the celebration using these ideas or inspiration from other famous artists/styles. Remember to tag @CONNETIX_tiles and we would love to hear about your art activities too @mylittlebrightsparks.