Hommage à Léger 1985

This painting by Erro called Hommage à Léger is a riot of clean lines and bold blocks of colour, creating an epic mash-up that’s like a comic book shouting at a Léger painting. I imagine Erro in his studio, totally vibing off Léger, but then thinking, "Nah, I gotta crank this up to eleven!" He's laying down these flat, unmodulated colours, right? Red, yellow, blue, the basics, but they’re so crisp and clear. It's like he's saying, "Let's take these classical shapes and give them a pop art punch." That pointing finger feels like Erro's way of winking at us, saying, "Hey, let's not take any of this too seriously." It’s like he's both celebrating Léger and cheekily subverting him. All painters are magpies, pinching ideas off each other through time and space. It is a conversation.