Les adieux 1981

Joan Miró made this print, “Les adieux,” as part of an ongoing conversation with himself and the world. Just look at those bold colors! Red, yellow, blue, green, all wrestling for attention, corralled by these decisive black lines. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s what I’m thinking, right now.” There's a freedom in how the colors are laid down, they're not trying to be perfect, and I think that's the point. The physicality of the print is so present: you can almost feel the texture of the ink, the bite of the plate on the paper. The color is opaque and feels really direct. Look at the way the black lines move - thick, thin, sometimes wobbly, sometimes sure. In the upper right there's a form that appears to be layered with red, yellow and blue. It could be a bird, a hat, or a flame, but it doesn't need to be defined to be interesting. Miró was always in dialogue with other artists, Picasso especially. Both artists were playing with abstraction and representation, pushing boundaries, and reminding us that art is a process, not a product. It’s about the questions, not the answers.