Decalcomania 1946

Enrico Donati made this decalcomania without a date, using a printmaking technique where paint is pressed between two surfaces. Imagine Donati, pressing and pulling apart surfaces, curious about the textures and patterns that might emerge. The ink, a somber palette of grays and browns, reminds me of landscapes submerged in mist. There’s a real push and pull between control and chance with this technique. I bet he had to surrender a bit to the materials, letting the ink lead the way. The vertical striations give me the feeling of rain cascading down a windowpane, or maybe even the marks left by a rake in a Zen garden. When I see art like this, I think about the Surrealists, their experiments with automatism, and their interest in the unconscious. These guys inspire one another, you know? There’s always an exchange of ideas through time, inspiring each other’s creativity. It’s about embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, and allowing for multiple readings of the work, rather than settling on one fixed meaning.