Mousse d'Étoiles 1975

Marcel Barbeau made "Mousse d'Étoiles" with what looks like a big nod to Jackson Pollock, but with a totally different sensibility. I see these looping black lines, kind of like cursive handwriting, but without a clear message, and then all these joyful, bouncy dots of yellow and white, splattered with what I imagine was pure glee. The colours seem to pop and fizz against a hazy ground, like a night sky, or a kind of celestial foam. I can imagine Barbeau, maybe in his studio in Montreal, thinking about the automatist movement, letting his mind wander and his hand follow, as he freely associated forms and experimented with gesture. I've always loved how these artists talk to each other across time, sharing and pushing each other's ideas. It reminds me that painting is about endless possibilities. You just gotta start somewhere.