Africa 5 1970

Robert Motherwell made this print, Africa 5, with lithography, a printmaking process where ink is applied to a smooth surface. This piece, it's all about stark contrasts and bold gestures, and you know, I find that so appealing. The black ink against the pale background, it's like a visual shout. Look at the way the ink bleeds and pools in places, giving it this raw, almost impulsive feel. There’s a dark rectangle and some thick lines that create a kind of ground or stage, and on top of that, are these looser, more gestural shapes. It's like a dance between control and spontaneity. And it reminds me of the prints of Helen Frankenthaler, where she gets these big shapes that feel both intentional and accidental. It's that tension, I think, that makes it so alive. And it tells us something about how the world is an ongoing conversation, where every mark, every gesture, is a response to what came before.