Three People 1970

Rufino Tamayo made this painting, Three People, and the colours feel like he's pulled them straight from a Mexican sunset. The way the red bleeds into the purple, it's not just a painting, it's a feeling. Looking closer, you can see the texture, the way the paint is laid on thick in some places, almost scratched into the surface in others. It's like he's building up layers of memory, of emotion. Take that yellow line running down the centre of the middle figure. It's a simple mark, but it cuts through the whole composition, anchoring it, like a spine. Tamayo's work always feels like a conversation, not just with himself, but with artists across time. You can see echoes of Picasso, of Miró, but he’s speaking in his own voice, with his own accent. There's no right or wrong way to see it, it's more about what you bring to the table, what you see reflected back at you.