Fish 1952

This is Milton Avery’s "Fish," made in 1952, and it's a color woodcut, a relief print, which means the artist carved away the negative space and printed what was left. The whole thing feels like a big, happy accident, doesn't it? The white outline of the fish sits inside the blue rectangle like a child’s drawing. Avery’s work is all about simplification, boiling things down to their essence. Check out the texture in that blue! You can almost feel the gouge of the tool he used. And look how the white outline isn't perfect. It wobbles and breaks, giving the fish a sense of movement, of being alive. See that white spot just above the fish? Is it another fish, a little moon, or just a mistake? It doesn’t matter; it works. Avery reminds me a bit of Matisse, with their shared love of simple shapes and expressive color. It's like they're both saying, "Hey, art doesn't have to be so serious; it can be playful and fun."