Head

The paintings Milan Mrkusich made in 1955 are studies in the abstract use of advancing and receding colour, although they are still tied either to landscape or to human form. In the case of Head, the artist has juxtaposed many bright colours to make an abstract pattern that is of far more importance than the fact of its physical derivation. The colour is applied in shaped blocks. In this, it is perhaps influenced by the artist’s simultaneous involvement in the design and production of mosaic murals made from coloured glass pieces called tesserae. In fact, few people would realise that the painting refers to a head, unless they were told so.