Stars and Disasters (Astres et Désastres) 1969

Pierre Alechinsky pulled this print of "Stars and Disasters" with colour and line etched into the plate. It’s an idea surrounded by a frame. But is it the idea that’s framed, or is it the frame that’s the actual idea? The colors are light, but those looping, melting, organic forms around the border seem to be pressing in on the central form. It feels like they’re about to devour it. I wonder if Alechinsky had a specific disaster in mind, like a volcanic eruption, or if he was just thinking about how everything eventually succumbs to time. That central, blueish, nebulous form is particularly interesting. To me, it suggests a kind of cosmic soup. The thin washes create a sense of depth, as if it could go on forever. The whole print is alive with the tension between order and chaos, containment and release. Artists keep responding to one another and having conversations across the ages, inspiring one another's work.