Invitation to -Grand Bal des Artistes- 1923

This invitation was designed by Mikhail Larionov, with what looks like a linocut or woodblock print, in black and ochre on paper. Look at the interaction between figuration and abstraction! It's a very playful composition. On the left, we see a figure or figures, maybe dancing, stylized and geometric. And on the right, the words are stacked into a kind of abstract pattern. What was Larionov thinking when he made this? I imagine him experimenting with text and form, pushing the boundaries of traditional design. It’s like he’s saying, "Let's turn language into art and art into an invitation to a party." I see echoes of Russian Futurism and the avant-garde, artists in conversation, riffing off each other's ideas. Painting, like parties, is all about exchange, embracing the unexpected and the ambiguous. And Larionov's invitation embodies that spirit of creative freedom and possibility.