Concerning the Meal 1980

Bernard Cohen made this print called *Concerning the Meal* here at the Tate, and it’s a real feast for the eyes. He’s used a screen-printing process to build up layers of color and pattern, which makes me think about how we assemble a meal, course by course. The background is like a tiled tablecloth, a grid filled with tiny, intricate shapes in red, which feels kind of homey. Then, these translucent shapes float on top like spilled jelly, blobs of color in green, red, and blue. I especially like how the colors mix where they overlap; that blue shape over the red makes a deep, mysterious purple. It's a reminder of the surprising flavors we discover when we mix things up. Cohen’s work reminds me a bit of the playfulness of Miro, where shapes and colors dance together on the surface. It's all about enjoying the process of seeing and feeling. Ultimately, art is a conversation that never really ends.