Flame in space and nude woman 1932

Joan Miró’s ‘Flame in Space and Nude Woman’ seems to have emerged, slowly, from an accumulation of painted marks and shapes. It’s like a world in itself, where floating figures dance on a horizontal plane that falls away into deep space. Looking at the image, I imagine Miró in his studio, moving fluidly around the canvas. The planes of color have been carefully considered – a playful green sky presses down on the ochre ground, while yellow and red forms hover in the middle ground. He’s not afraid to be bold, and that red is so powerful in its directness and intensity! It reminds me a little of Matisse, but with Miró’s own surreal twist. That strange, thin black line that rises up, dividing the green and black spaces...It could be anything! A flame, a gesture, a figure, or just a line. It holds the whole painting together. And this is what makes painting so interesting! Each artist, each painting, is a part of a larger conversation, with artists responding to one another across time. They inspire new ways of seeing, feeling, and being in the world.