Liberty 1930

Ellison Hoover made this print called "Liberty" and you can see how he works with a limited palette to build an image from dark to light. I really like the way he has used this restriction as a prompt for experimentation. Up close, you can see the texture of the paper and the way the ink sits on the surface; the image is composed of thousands of tiny marks, graduating from dense concentrations of ink to almost bare paper. Think of the torch. There’s a real sense of depth and luminosity around it, achieved through a careful distribution of tiny marks. In his other works, Hoover employed similar techniques, often focusing on urban landscapes and architectural subjects. His approach reminds me of artists like Whistler, who explored the atmospheric effects of light and shadow through printmaking. But Hoover brings a distinctly American sensibility to the medium, transforming it into something new. The best art is about these kinds of dialogues across time.