Three Birds 1952

Milton Avery made this print, Three Birds, probably in 1952, and the whole image is like a simple stage set. Black skies, yellow light, and three birds flying across. What was he thinking? I imagine Avery, block in hand, pressing onto the paper, making sure the colours – that acidic yellow, that velvety black – really sing. Each bird is slightly different, like variations on a theme. There is the canary yellow bird on the left, the solid silhouette in the middle, and the stripy fellow on the right. Look at how their wings are edged with these tiny scallops that contrast with the solid masses of colour. Avery was onto something with his commitment to reductive forms, and his work later inspired artists like Mark Rothko. It’s like he created a recipe for them. A pinch of Matisse, a splash of color, and a whole lot of feeling. Artists keep talking to one another across time, and the conversation is alive and open.