Red Pepper (Triptych) 2009

Beatriz Milhazes made this series of three canvases, called Red Pepper, with acrylic paint. What I love about Milhazes is how she has really got to grips with all that Matisse and Mondrian were cooking up. There's a real sense of pleasure at work here as she combines pure geometry and abstraction with imagery that nods towards the natural world. And I wonder how it came into being. The paint looks smooth and even, so has she used stencils? Or has she masked out each area and filled it in with layers of colour? The lines of these shapes seem to flow with rhythm and confidence, and with a kind of decorative joy. Look at that flourish of swirling lines on the right-hand panel – they are so luscious. Milhazes’ work is part of a long conversation between artists that stretches back over time, inspiring new ways of seeing and painting. In my own work, I have returned to the idea of the fragment, so perhaps I should have another look at triptychs.