Femme oiseaux 1978

Joan Miró made this painting, Femme oiseaux, on an undetermined date, likely using gouache on paper. The color palette is minimal—black, white, and tan, punctuated by bright spots of primary color—and the marks are broad and gestural, which tells us so much about Miró’s process. What I love is how Miró lets the materials speak. The gouache is opaque, laid down in confident strokes that define the figure. The texture of the paper peeks through, grounding the fantastical image in a material reality. Take a look at the central black spiral, seemingly the stomach of the "femme." It feels so direct, like the brush was loaded with paint and dragged across the surface in one continuous motion. Miró’s work always makes me think of Paul Klee. Both artists share that playful sense of line and form, creating worlds that feel both childlike and deeply profound. It's like they're reminding us that art doesn't always have to make sense; it just has to make us feel something.