What is Happening to Him? (Que se passe-t-il?) 1963

Here's Pierre Alechinsky's print, "What is Happening to Him?" made in 1983. Look at all the frenetic energy in those looping red gestures – they make me think of automatic drawing, a kind of stream-of-consciousness mark-making. I imagine Alechinsky letting his hand move freely across the page, almost like he's channeling some inner world. The yellow ground feels kind of acidic, heightening the tension. He's throwing these little characters and shapes into the mix. I'm getting notes of Miró or maybe even Dubuffet. Is he asking "what's happening to him?" in relation to all of us? It reminds me how artists are always riffing off each other, having this big conversation across time. Painting is like that—it’s embodied and messy and full of contradictions. And it allows for so many different ways of seeing and feeling.