Texte decrepit 1959

Jean Dubuffet made this print, entitled 'Texte decrepit', by experimenting with texture. It’s all about process. Looking closely, you see a surface that's been built up, worn down, built up again. It has such a physical presence, almost like a wall with layers of posters peeling off. Notice the top left corner. You can see these blotches of dark against a lighter background. These marks feel so raw and immediate. They almost look like fragments of some lost language. Dubuffet often looked outside of the art world for his inspiration, for example, the art of children and the mentally ill, and was always searching for ways to challenge conventional notions of beauty and skill. It makes me think of Antoni Tàpies, who was also interested in the poetry of decay and ruin. Art's just this ongoing conversation, you know? It doesn't give you answers, but it opens up possibilities.