The Art of Balance: When Abstract Paintings Work Both Ways

The other night, I realised I’d been photographing my latest work, Urban Veil, upside down. The funny thing was — it still looked perfectly balanced. In fact, it took me a moment to notice. That’s when I thought, this might actually be the best test of an abstract painting. If it works both ways, it’s working at a deeper level — beyond orientation, beyond representation — purely on the strength of composition, tone, and rhythm.

In abstract art, structure is everything. When a painting holds together no matter how it’s turned, it means the artist has found a natural equilibrium — a kind of quiet geometry that keeps the eye moving and the mind engaged. It’s the interplay of light and dark, solid and soft, warm and cool. These relationships carry more weight than any single form or direction. I often rotate a piece while I’m working on it, checking whether it feels balanced in every position. Seeing it upside down or in a mirror can reveal truths about proportion and harmony that aren’t visible head-on.

Urban Veil passed that test. Whether upright or inverted, it still felt calm, connected, and complete. Perhaps that’s the real goal — to create a piece that feels at home in any orientation, one that finds its own centre. When that happens, you know the painting isn’t just holding an image — it’s holding a feeling, suspended in perfect balance.

https://www.saatchiart.com/en-nz/art/Mixed-Media-Urban-Veil/950115/13292863/view