Dragonfly with Red-Tipped Wing in Pursuit of a Serpent Spiralling Toward a Comet 1951

Joan Miró made this painting, Dragonfly with Red-Tipped Wing in Pursuit of a Serpent Spiralling Toward a Comet, with an open, playful spirit. The lines loop and dart, suggesting movement, but also something more profound. Look at that creamy ground. It's been washed and scrubbed back, leaving a subtle texture that peeks through the floating characters. Miró thinned his paint right down, staining the canvas in places and leaving the material present. And it’s the material presence of the piece which gives it meaning, like a half-remembered dream made solid. The long, checkered wing, for example – it's almost cartoonish, yet the careful application of color and the slight imperfections in the lines give it a unique personality. Miró reminds me of Paul Klee, another artist who found magic in the simplest forms. Both invite us to embrace ambiguity and find our own stories within their art.