Study for "Icarus", No. 2 1964

Jimmy Ernst made "Study for Icarus, No. 2" using graphite, crayon, and pastel on paper. Right away, I'm drawn to how the colours seem to fight for space, like they're all trying to break through at once. You know, artmaking really is a process of letting things emerge, and this piece feels like a perfect example of that. Looking closely, you can see how the black graphite lines are almost like a cage, trapping the bursts of red, blue, and orange underneath. There's this tension between control and chaos, order and freedom. It makes me think about how the myth of Icarus is all about pushing boundaries, but ultimately crashing down. See how the marks on the top half are a dark mass with feathery strokes, where the bottom half consists of linear, horizontal strokes, like iron bars? This piece reminds me a little of Cy Twombly’s work, in the sense that both artists create these layered, scribbled surfaces that feel both ancient and totally modern. Ultimately, art is like a big conversation, with artists riffing off each other across time. It’s never about having the one right answer.