L'Oiseau de Barbarie 1952

Jean-Michel Atlan made L’Oiseau de Barbarie, and immediately I’m thinking about the gestures, the black lines, and the feeling of something emerging. Imagine him, pencil in hand, maybe charcoal, letting these marks come to life. It’s like he’s feeling his way through the dark, trying to capture something just out of reach. There's a rawness here; the colours like whispers of red and brown beneath the heavy black lines. I see Atlan searching, maybe even struggling to bring form to the formless. I am reminded a little of Klee. That eye staring out at you! It’s as if Atlan is saying: “I’m here, I’m present, I’m looking, are you?” Artists are always talking to each other. And to us. Atlan's work reminds us that painting is a process, a journey, and that sometimes, the most beautiful things come from the most uncertain places.