Contemporary painting of organic leaf structures

Nanchang OCT Contemporary Art Center is shaped by its surroundings, fostering ‘harmonious coexistence’

Contemporary painting of organic leaf structures

The elements of art are components or parts of a work of art that can be isolated and defined. They are the building blocks used to create a work of art.

The list below describes each element of art. Learn about the principles of design here.

Line

A line is an identifiable path created by a point moving in space. It is one-dimensional and can vary in width, direction, and length. Lines often define the edges of a form. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, straight or curved, thick or thin. They lead your eye around the composition and can communicate information through their character and direction.

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Contemporary painting of organic leaf structures

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the architecture transforms into an organic natural sequence

Horizontal lines suggest a feeling of rest or repose because objects parallel to the earth are at rest. In this landscape, horizontal lines also help give a sense of space. The lines delineate sections of the landscape, which recede into space. They also imply continuation of the landscape beyond the picture plane to the left and right.

Vertical lines often communicate a sense of height because they are perpendicular to the earth, extending upwards toward the sky. In this church interior, vertical lines suggest spirituality, rising beyond human reach toward the heavens.

Horizontal and vertical lines used in combination communicate stability and solidity. Rectilinear forms with 90-degree angles are structurally stable. This stability suggests permanence and reliability.

Diagonal lines convey a feeling of movement. Objects in a diagonal position are unstable. Because they are neither vertical nor horizontal, they are either about to fall or are already in motion. The angles of the ship and the rocks on the shore convey a feeling of movement or speed in this stormy harbor scene.

The curve of a line can convey energy. Soft, shallow curves recall the curves of the human body and often have a pleasing, sensual quality and a softening effect on the composition. The edge of the pool in this photograph gently leads the eye to the sculptures on the horizon.

Shape and form

Shape and form define objects in space. Shapes have two dimensionsheight and widthand are usually defined by lines. Forms exist in three dimensions, with height, width, and depth.

Shape has only height and width. Shape is usually, though not always, defined by line, which can provide its contour. In this image, rectangles and ovals dominate the composition. They describe the architectural details for an illusionist ceiling fresco.

Form has depth as well as width and height. Three-dimensional form is the basis of sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts. Three-dimensional forms can be seen from more than one side, such as this sculpture of a rearing horse.

Geometric shapes and forms include mathematical, named shapes such as squares, rectangles, circles, cubes, spheres, and cones. Geometric shapes and forms are often man-made. However, many natural forms also have geometric shapes. This cabinet is decorated with designs of geometric shapes.

Organic shapes and forms are typically irregular or asymmetrical. Organic shapes are often found in nature, but man-made shapes can also imitate organic forms. This wreath uses organic forms to simulate leaves and berries.

Fernand Léger

Free
Artist Fernand Léger 1881–1955
Original title Feuilles et coquillage
Medium Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions Support: 1295 × 972 mm
frame: 1350 × 1019 × 60 mm
Collection Tate
Acquisition Purchased 1949
Reference N05907

Display caption
Catalogue entry

Léger’s paintings often celebrate machine-made objects and modern city life. But in the late 1920s he began to include natural forms in his work. The curving line down the left-hand side of the painting softens the underlying geometric structure of horizontal and vertical lines. It also acts as a link to the organic shapes of leaves and a shell. These naturalistic elements, with their streamlined shapes, are closely connected to the abstract parts of the image.

Gallery label, August 2019

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Catalogue entry

Fernand Léger 1881-1955

N05907 Feuilles et Coquillage (Leaves and Shell) 1927

Inscribed ‘F. LÉGER. 27’ b.r. and ‘feuilles et coquillage | F. LÉGER 27’ on back of canvas
Oil on canvas, 51 x 38 1/4 (129.5 x 97)
Purchased from the artist (Benson Fund) 1949
Exh: Calder, Léger, Bodmer, Leuppi , Kunsthalle, Bern, May 1947 (56); Alexander Calder + Fernand Léger , Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, July-August 1947 (60); Fernand Léger: Exposition Rétrospective 1905-49 , Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, October-November 1949 (52); Fernand Léger , Tate Gallery, February-March 1950 (28, repr.)
Repr: John Rothenstein, The Tate Gallery (London 1966), p.258

This seems to be the final and largest version of this theme. There are two other versions in oils of which the first was probably one 92 x 73cm (Léonce Rosenberg photo no.1092) which has a dedication to Léonce Rosenberg, ‘amicalement à Léonce Rosenberg’, just above the signature. It is very similar in general appearance and proportions , but lacks the undulating colour band down the left-hand side and has various other minor differences. A smaller still life which passed through the Galerie Simon (No.10261) and which is reproduced in Der Querschnitt , VIII, 1928, facing p.40, seems to represent an intermediate stage. It measures 65 x 54cm and is rather squarer in format than the other two, but it includes the curved-edged band of colour down the left-hand side and is generally closer in detail to the Tate’s picture. (For instance, the forms of the two upper leaves are more or less the same, the leaf immediately below touches the dark vertical line instead of not quite meeting it, and so on). Both these other versions have three coloured discs in the dark striped area and a dark coloured disc in the bottom right-hand corner. The final picture also had a coloured disc in the bottom corner at some stage, but it was afterwards painted out and the green triangle and the smaller disc more to the left were added instead. Both the other versions are also dated 1927.

Published in:
Ronald Alley, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery’s Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists , Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.418-9, reproduced p.418

undulated hill-like planted steps merge contemporary art center in china with urban fabric

Nanchang OCT Contemporary Art Center expands organically

DUO – Decode Urbanism Office’s design for Nanchang OCT Contemporary Art Center in China embodies a holistic architectural system, conceived as an organism shaped by the surrounding context rather than artificial impositions. This ‘self-organized’ structure seeks architectural openness and public engagement, fostering a long-term state of ‘harmonious coexistence’. The museum design philosophy prioritizes reducing the influence of artificial design will, favoring the induction of inherent factors from the surroundings to shape the architectural form. The site, influenced by the distant wetland landscape and the nearby Festive Square, eschews a spectacular figure in favor of a public space. The square site dictates the building’s square outline, with a raised ground on the opposite side forming a ‘hillside’ space conducive to relaxation, viewing, and observation. The development, responding to the surroundings, shapes the internal space dynamically, creating a non-equilibrium system with a cantilevered structure and an underground multifunctional area.