Head to Toe 1962

Pierre Alechinsky made this print called, Head to Toe, in 1962 and it’s all about letting the ink do its thing. There’s a real sense of playful experimentation here. I love the way Alechinsky uses these loose, flowing lines and blotches of color to suggest figures, almost like they’re emerging from a dream. Look at the left side – those splashes of green and purple, how they kind of dance and swirl together. It feels like you’re catching a glimpse of something fleeting and mysterious. And then there’s the way he contrasts those soft, watery areas with these bold, decisive strokes of black. It’s like he’s constantly shifting between control and chance, and that tension is what makes the whole thing so alive. It puts me in mind of Joan Miró, they both tapped into a similar kind of childlike freedom and joy in the process of making art. For me, this piece is a reminder that art doesn’t always have to be about perfect representation.