Stars and Disasters (Astres et Désastres) 1969

Pierre Alechinsky made this intriguing print, Stars and Disasters, using color etching. I imagine him hunched over a metal plate, drawing with a sharp tool, the acid biting into the lines, gradually building up this world of quirky forms. There’s a kind of childlike simplicity to the shapes, like figures in a dream, vulnerable and exposed, staring into the light. I empathize with the artist, trying to capture something so enigmatic. What's so fascinating is that the marks themselves— the hatched lines, the scrawled textures—create a palpable sense of surface, a tactile quality that draws you in. I think of other artists who play with the subconscious like Miro or Guston. Artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other, adding their own spin. Painting is about embodied expression. It’s not about fixed meanings, more like a dance with ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. This print is an open question.