Rumeur 1959

Jean Dubuffet made this beautiful piece, Rumeur, with a palette of ochre and dark brown tones, built up through countless tiny gestures. Imagine the painting coming into being, the artist's hand hovering above the surface, sprinkling paint like rain on pavement. I can almost feel what it was like for Dubuffet in his studio, trying to capture something so fleeting. I wonder if he felt he was chasing the wind, trying to capture the essence of rumour, or gossip, or the whispers of the city. The texture is so crucial here, each dab and dot adding to a field of almost infinite variation. I’m reminded of other artists who, like Dubuffet, embrace a kind of raw, unfiltered expression, artists like Cy Twombly, maybe? Painting feels like a conversation across time, a sharing of gestures and ideas, and Dubuffet definitely has something to say. It’s an open ended exchange where meaning isn't fixed, but unfolds through feeling and interpretation.