Esplanade ombreuse 1958

Jean Dubuffet made this print, ‘Esplanade ombreuse’ in 1958, and it's like looking at a landscape through a dirty window. It's all about texture, those tiny specks of ink creating a gritty, almost tangible surface. The colours are muted, browns and golds, like earth and sunlight struggling to break through. It's not about clear representation; it's more about the feeling of a place, the atmosphere. Look closely, you can almost feel the dampness of the ground. There’s this one spot, a lighter patch near the top, that reminds me of a clouded-over sun. Dubuffet wasn’t interested in traditional beauty; he was looking for something rawer, more immediate. Think of the early work of Anselm Kiefer, with his fascination for texture and earthy tones, both artists teach us that beauty can be found in the unexpected, in the imperfect. Art isn't about answers, it's about questions.