Interieur met naakte vrouw en raam 1918

This woodcut print by Gustave De Smet shows an interior with a nude woman and a window. It was made sometime around 1918. I’m really taken by the boldness of the blacks and whites. I wonder what it felt like for De Smet to carve these shapes into wood, making such strong, determined cuts! And the tension between inside and outside, private and public, is palpable. A naked figure, a window onto buildings outside – the interior is almost spilling out, or the world outside is pressing in. It’s all so stark and intense; it reminds me of the German Expressionists. There’s something very direct and honest in the medium itself. I feel like De Smet really lets the material speak, allowing the inherent qualities of the wood and the cutting process to shine through. Artists, you know, we're always in conversation with each other and art history – it's this back-and-forth that keeps things moving.