Two Birds 1952

Milton Avery made this woodcut print, "Two Birds," in 1952, and it's got this wonderfully direct way of getting to the essence of things, don’t you think? The carving away of the block seems so crucial here, it's all about reduction. I love the simplicity and directness of the blocky forms and the way the white birds emerge from the solid blue ground. The blue has a kind of density, a real weight, but the birds are still so airy and light. See the rough edges where the blue meets the paper? You can almost feel the resistance of the wood and imagine Avery using his tools to coax these forms out. It's kind of like a dance between control and letting go, which for me, is what art is all about. Avery reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley, especially in his use of simplified forms and bold color. They both manage to convey a lot with a little, leaving space for our imaginations to fill in the gaps.