Anna McNay reviews Ida Kerkovius: My World is Colour at Kunstsammlung Chemnitz, on view through April 27, 2014.

McNay writes: "For Kerkovius, who is probably best known for her intensely rich pastel drawings, the two most important aspects of her work were always colour and form. She spoke frankly about her avoidance of details, saying they might destroy the overall composition, but recognising that some larger shapes nonetheless needed to be included. Learning from, and working alongside, Expressionists and abstract painters, she nevertheless kept figuration alive in her oeuvre, simplifying but not overlooking forms altogether. 'Pictures should be like a view from the window,' she once said, and she was also clear that every work, including her tapestries, must present a completed picture. Kerkovius learned to work in the open air and insisted on continuing this practice to the bitter end, often sitting outdoors in the hot sun for hours at a time, pastels in one hand, paper on a board on her knee."