Nikolai Suetin’s “Suprematism” (1920-1921), Oil on canvas, Wood Interpretation
Attrition
The interpretation of Nikolai Suetain's painting aims to show the overlap that creates a dialogue between its various elements. This overlap demonstrates the gradual erosion of shapes, as if parts of the canvas are being eaten away to unveil the void within. This would lead to the concept of attrition.
Attrition is the disintegration of a solid entity into smaller ones. It is the formulation of a void within matter, the distortion of the truth that becomes hidden. Attrition is what fades into nothingness to reveal space, “space which the heart feels, space in which we too are located, space which is close to us and with which we are organically connected”- Jean Paulhan
