Leaf of an artichoke in the form of an owl

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The Museum of Modern Art (New York, the USA).

The painting demonstrates the artist’s interest in abstract pictorial forms that spontaneously appear on the canvas. Here, Gorki experimented with paints that he freely poured onto the canvas, and then worked with colour spots formed by chance. Made in a warm ocher colour scheme, the picture evokes associations with a warm summer evening and the smell of grass dried in the sun. It is almost completely pointless and is one of the best works of the author of his mature period.