“Delicate Tension.” What a delicious title—fizzing with dangerous possibility! And have you ever seen a work of art so perfectly embody its name? A highly strung painting—full of humming chords that might at any moment snap—of clear, bright blocks of color ready to break free of their orderly cells and make a mess.

I see many things at once. A candy jar teetering on the edge of the counter (a pink-and-black Licorice Allsort on top), and the strong mast of a boat as its colorful sail is buffeted by the wind. My trusty high school compass-and-protractor set and the space-age world of our future.

But most of all, this masterful painting captures the essence of a familiar feeling—the knowledge that every day is a balancing act of sorts.

In creating this artwork, it is as though Kandinsky was compelled to draw carefully with a stencil and let loose with a paintbrush, to let his imagination take flight and lead with form and structure. To me, that perfectly reflects a fundamental truth in all our daily lives—the constant need to navigate the delicate tensions between competing desires: to work or play, to jump up or sit down, to drink water or wine. It’s both exhausting and exhilarating.