Stars and Disasters (Astres et Désastres) 1969

Pierre Alechinsky made this print, "Stars and Disasters", using colour etching, though when, I'm not sure. It’s the kind of print where the process feels really upfront. You can see the hand in the lines and the way the colours are laid down. Looking at the textures, there's a real rawness to the marks. The looping red lines at the bottom sort of remind me of seaweed or entrails. All these weird and funny figures float in and around a yellow and green circle. I love the way the etching has a kind of bite, a slight roughness that gives the image a tactile quality. Think about someone like Joan Miró, who also had this playful, surreal quality, but Alechinsky brings a unique sense of immediacy. It’s like he’s drawing directly from his subconscious. It leaves you with more questions than answers, and that’s what makes it so engaging.