Pilot Fish 1952

This is Milton Avery's "Pilot Fish," a print in blue and black. Just imagine Avery making this. He's building the image through layers, maybe starting with a dark block and then adding the fish on top. I can almost see him carving the linoleum or woodblock, following his intuition, letting the image emerge through the act of making. The texture seems important. The roughness contrasts with the elegance of the fish's form. And there is such a deep, dreamy blue, almost like indigo. It’s not just about depicting a fish; it’s about capturing a mood, a feeling of being underwater, surrounded by the mystery of the ocean. You know, Avery was a master of simplification, distilling forms down to their essence, a bit like Matisse. His work always feels so deeply personal, like he's sharing a secret with you. It's like all us artists are in an ongoing conversation, remixing each other's ideas across time.