Untitled (Envelope Composition)

Miguel Cervantes made this untitled print from an etched plate on paper sometime after 1980. I love the way Cervantes lets the etching process itself be so visible. There's a sort of rough and ready quality to this print, like it's not trying to hide anything. You can see how the ink sits on the surface, creating a texture that's almost like a topographical map. The different tones of grey and brown, it’s so subtle, creating depth and shadow. Look at the dark patch in the lower left, like a little island in a sea of lighter tones; it's almost a world within a world. This piece reminds me a little of some of the early abstract expressionist prints, like the ones Pollock made. It’s that same sense of exploration, of pushing the boundaries of what a print can be, embracing chance and accident. For me, it's all about the conversation that artists have with each other across time, each one building on what came before, and Cervantes is really plugged into that conversation.