Little Girl with a Bird (Fillette à l'oiseau) 1956

This is Minami Keiko's Little Girl with a Bird, a print in pale hues. The whole thing feels like it came about through touch, through the movement of hand and mind and eye together. The marks are so simple, like a child's drawing, yet they're placed with such care. Look at how the bird is formed from many tiny lines, how the skirt is made of an arrangement of repeated marks. It's not just about what's depicted, but how it’s depicted. The texture of the paper is so present, like the print is barely there at all. The lines are thin and delicate, as if they might disappear any second. And yet, they hold the whole composition together. It makes me think of Klee, with that same interest in childlike wonder and the power of simple forms. The beauty here is in the process, in the artist's willingness to let the materials speak. It’s a reminder that art doesn't have to be perfect or polished to be meaningful.