A circle with a square opening in the middle: this is the etching that forms the focal point of this series of new paintings produced this summer in his studio in the Alpilles, then in Bougival. Around the etched circle, which is both trapdoor and porthole, blue or red arborescences extend over a white, green or blue background. Or, these are notes in a margin, contained within rectangular cartouches. Or, they may be historiated eruptions where the eye delights in the search for a tale with multiple entry points. Summer 2017 was a fertile season under the paintbrush of Pierre Alechinsky.