Color Theory in 3D Art – How We Choose Our Palette

At Olshbau, color is never a finishing touch. It’s part of the structure, the emotion, the silence between shapes. In our work with cardboard, paper, and plywood, color doesn’t decorate—it defines.

We build forms first, but from the beginning, we are already thinking in color.

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A Legacy of Thoughtful Color

Our work sits in dialogue with Bauhaus principles. Artists like Moholy-Nagy and Kandinsky taught that color is not something applied—it’s something felt. It has weight, balance, direction. Kandinsky put it plainly:

“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”

— Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911)

In the same spirit, Suprematist and Constructivist artists used limited palettes to amplify emotion through shape and contrast. We take that influence seriously, asking with every new piece: what must this color say?

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Materials First, Color Follows

Every sculpture starts with material exploration. Cardboard absorbs acrylic differently than plywood. Paper catches light with more delicacy. We test each surface—not just to see how it holds pigment, but how it holds attention.

Once we understand the material’s voice, we begin choosing its companion tones.

 

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How Color Theory Shapes Our Work

Though we are guided by intuition, color theory grounds our decisions. Some key ideas we return to again and again:

• Contrast: We use complementary colors to create visual friction—think blue vs. orange, or red beside green. This tension brings energy to otherwise static forms.

• Harmony: Analogous palettes—blue with teal, ochre with sienna—create calm and cohesion, often in our quieter pieces.

• Accent: A single bold color amid neutrals can draw the eye and set the rhythm. Gold on gray. Crimson in a field of ivory. A moment of surprise.

We are not interested in decorating. We’re composing.

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The Palette is a Conversation

We don’t follow seasonal color trends. Instead, we keep a core palette of strong primaries, moody neutrals, deep charcoals, and mineral golds. From there, we introduce occasional wildcards: a washed-out mint, a dusty plum, a pale clay.

Some colors recur—like old friends returning in new moods. Others disappear after one piece, never to be used again.

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Final Form

Each Olshbau piece moves from sketch to structure to final artwork. But the moment it is painted—truly painted—it comes alive. That final layer of color brings the piece into the present. It holds space on the wall, not as ornament but as a statement.

This is how we approach color. With patience. With theory. And with care.