Plenty 1961

This is 'Plenty', an etching made by Bernard Childs, sometime around the mid-20th century. The colours are spare, a kind of robin’s egg blue and a burnt orange, laid down in a way that feels almost accidental. The surface has a kind of granular quality, like seeing something through frosted glass. The orange clumps together, forming a kind of arch, but the material itself seems to resist definition. I keep thinking about the title. It’s not immediately apparent in the image, but the layering of marks and textures has a cumulative effect. The more you look, the more you find. The arch form pulls the composition together, but it’s kind of falling apart at the same time. Those drips of orange suggest a tension between order and chaos. This tension seems key to the piece, and to Childs’ work more broadly; it reminds me of the way Joan Miró would let his subconscious guide his hand, resulting in compositions that feel both spontaneous and carefully considered. It’s like a dance between intention and chance.