Shooting Star 1938

This painting, *Shooting Star,* by Joan Miró is a world of floating forms made with a light touch, like a visual poem. The paint is thin, almost like watercolor in places, allowing the white of the paper to breathe through. I can imagine Miró in his studio, dancing with the brush, letting the shapes emerge from his subconscious. What’s so relatable is that he isn’t afraid to let the weirdness in; a figure tumbles through the cosmos with such joyful abandon. Look at how the black lines define the shapes, giving them weight and presence, so they almost seem to float against the mottled ground of smoky blues and reds. Miró was in conversation with the surrealists, but he carved out his own space, one that feels both playful and profound. Painting is like this, a space for constant exchange, and the conversation never stops, and we are all the better for it.