The Lagoon 2 1947

Matisse made "The Lagoon 2" using cut-and-pasted paper, that he then printed, and the whole image swims in the loveliest light green. It’s all about the pleasure of colour, and the shapes feel like they are dancing on the surface. The flatness of the paper is so important here. Each colour block sits right on top, creating a harmony of forms. Those black seaweed shapes at the bottom, for example, they're not trying to trick you into thinking they're real. Instead, they announce themselves as graphic, bold and playful. There is a gorgeous magenta squiggle above, like someone doodled in icing on a cake, and then the white areas almost feel like the negative space, the paper itself shining through. Matisse's cut-outs remind me a little of Elizabeth Murray's shaped canvases. They share that joy in form and color, where art is an ongoing conversation, not a fixed statement.