Chance and Its Mother (Le hasard et sa mère) from the portfolio Pencil on Shell 1971

Pierre Alechinsky made this lithograph called 'Chance and Its Mother' and what strikes me is how the simple act of drawing can conjure up a whole world. The looping lines that compose the figure, rendered in shades of blue and green, feel almost like automatic writing. The black ink behind creates a shadow. I imagine Alechinsky letting his hand move freely, guided by intuition rather than a preconceived plan. Does that pumpkin shape on the lower left look like a grumpy child? You know, when I look at this I think of other artists like Joan Miró and André Masson, who embraced chance and improvisation. They used the subconscious to unlock new possibilities in their work. To me, artists are always in conversation with one another across time, inspiring and challenging each other's visions.