Joan Miró. Gravats 5 Poemes. Joan Salvat-Papasseit #1 1974

This is a print by Joan Miró. Check out that black line, how it holds all those shapes together, like a skeleton. You can imagine Miró's hand moving quickly, decisively, across the plate, scratching out these forms in a kind of playful dance. The colours are so vivid, like childhood memories, primary and bold: that floating blue shape echoes another one lower down, as if answering each other. I think he wanted to get back to the basics, like a kid expressing pure feeling without inhibition. I can imagine him thinking about folk art, cave paintings, or maybe just the doodles you make when you're on the phone. For Miró, it was like a game of visual poetry, shapes talking to each other, lines creating unexpected connections. It's like he's having a conversation with us across time, passing along a bit of joy, and wonder.