Stars and Disasters (Astres et Désastres) 1969

Pierre Alechinsky's 'Stars and Disasters' is a print alive with scribbled energy and strange forms, bursting from the flat surface of the paper. Look at the way Alechinsky attacks the paper with looping lines of ochre, rust, and brown: each shape, each stroke feels intuitive, like following a thread of thought as it unravels. I can imagine Alechinsky working quickly, almost compulsively, trying to capture something fleeting. Are these stars turning into disasters, or disasters into stars? The longer you look, the more the image seems to shift, and the more you realize Alechinsky is less interested in answering questions than in posing them. It’s like he’s inviting us into his studio to watch the process of image-making itself. The biomorphic shapes remind me of other surrealist artists like Miró, who were also interested in the subconscious and automatic drawing. It is as if Alechinsky is in dialogue with them, asking similar questions about how we perceive the world and translate it into form. These guys were all in conversation, riffing off one another's energy. Painting is about embracing uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings, and that’s where the magic happens!