Formless painting

Otto Greis' colours are flung onto the canvas vigorously and very dynamically. They flow over the substrate, blend together, form drops, or are absorbed by the canvas. The picture was painted with large brushes made from horse hair by the artist himself and paints he mixed himself. The coarse pigments of the paints make the surface of "Blauer Aufbruch" look almost three-dimensional, like a sponge.
It is one of the first Art Informel works created in Germany. Literally translated, "informel" means shapeless. That is, the paintings feature neither recognisable motifs nor concrete geometric shapes. There are no rules of composition, such as adherence to perspective. The artwork is created in a process with an open end result. It leaves the viewer a free associative space that does not prescribe a firm interpretation. The general public in the conservative post-war Germany of the 1950s was hostile to this form of art and completely rejected its paintings.