Alechinsky images tout à trac. Mai 70 1970

This print was made in Paris in May of 1970 to advertise an exhibition of work by Alechinsky. Look at the big, grey whirls, almost like helicopter blades, radiating out from a splat of red paint, all contained by those earthy, umber outlines. I can just imagine the artist, Alechinsky, in his studio—probably in a paint-splattered smock—caught up in the act of creation. He probably wanted to capture the essence of movement, or maybe it was the feeling of being off-balance. It's almost as if he was chasing something elusive, trying to pin down a feeling that slips through your fingers. You know that sensation when you try to remember a dream? Then there's that nervous energy of scribbled lines at the bottom, constrained by green, the title barely legible... Maybe that's how Alechinsky wanted to communicate his intention, through a kind of raw, unfiltered expression. And that expression has a feeling, one I'm sure has touched many painters.