Figures in Front of a Metamorphosis 1936

Joan Miró made ‘Figures in Front of a Metamorphosis’ with paint on canvas, but when is anyone's guess! Just kidding, but with Miró, it’s like he’s pulling forms from some other dimension. Look at the green backdrop – it’s scrubby and uneven, almost like a chalkboard that’s been erased, but not completely. And then these characters come forward, floating and kind of menacing, but also playful. I love that. There's something about the ochre-ish figure with the spindly legs that's really grabbing me. The way it just hangs there, with its little spindly hands, it's so awkward and vulnerable. You feel like you could just reach out and tweak it. Miró feels like he’s in conversation with other surrealists like Arp, maybe even the later work of Gorky, but his approach to figuration and form is totally unique. He reminds us that art isn’t about answers; it’s about the questions we ask and the spaces we create in between.