Recorte em relevo 1968

José Escada made this paper 'Recorte em relevo,' which means 'Relief cut-out' in Portuguese, sometime between 1934 and 1980. The combination of orange and green is bold and fun. I love seeing how the artist has used shape and form to create these figures. See how the hands are articulated, almost like dancing, and the way that all of the edges are crisp and clean. The three different sections of color, the white, the green, and the orange, bring a lot of depth to the piece. Each color has a slightly different texture which creates some fun contrast. It's interesting how the white figure in the center is defined by the figure surrounding it. It feels like a cousin to the cut outs of Matisse, but with a surreal quality that is all Escada. Ultimately, this work embodies art's ability to communicate even without being explicit. It leaves space for our own stories.