Three Men 1921

Ossip Zadkine created “Three Men” using crayon and gouache, and boy, does it feel like a journey of discovery! The colours are muted but deep, with smoky blacks and shades of grey, like a charcoal drawing that's been kissed by early morning light. I can just imagine Zadkine, grappling with those ghostly figures. They're like the Easter Island heads but with a touch of melancholic longing. Were they listening? Arguing? Or lost in a shared silence? There is a beautiful green-blue stain that runs down the right-hand side of the composition; a gesture that is also a stain, reminding us that painting is like life: often messy and imperfect. You know, artists are always eavesdropping on each other, like Zadkine maybe heard something in Picasso, or maybe Giacometti. It’s like this big, ongoing conversation where ideas and feelings keep getting re-mixed. And that's why this painting touches me. Because painting, like life, is a space for ambiguity, for questions, and for never really knowing the answers for sure.