Two Birds 1952

Milton Avery pulled this print of Two Birds in 1952. It's made from a woodblock, so we're dealing with a pretty direct process here. The forms are stark, and the dark ink sits heavy on the page. I'm drawn to the bird on the left, the way its wing feathers are suggested with just a few confident lines. It's not about perfect representation but about capturing the essence of a bird's form. The texture of the block is really present. You can see the grain of the wood, or maybe imperfections in the inking. It reminds us that art-making is tactile. It's not just about ideas, it's about the physical act of carving, inking, and pressing. Avery, like Matisse, always had a knack for simplifying forms down to their most essential elements. It’s like he's saying, "I don't need to show you everything to make you feel something." It's a nice reminder that art is about suggestion, not dictation.