Pets c. 1954

This color print, called *Pets,* was made by Mario De Ferrante sometime in the mid-twentieth century. The blocks of color remind me of the way I start a painting, kind of feeling around for the form. The artist uses a flat, graphic style, where the different textures remind me of fabrics or wallpaper. The red rectangle at the heart of the composition is a power move. It’s like the artist is saying, "Here, look at this, this is important." The textures aren’t descriptive of fur, or furniture, but more like stand-ins for the feeling of comfort and home. De Ferrante’s work reminds me a bit of the prints of someone like Bonnard, playing with domestic space. Prints like this invite us to think about how we see, and how we make sense of the world around us through shapes and patterns.