Untitled (Still Life) c. 1929

Katharine Schlater made this untitled block print probably mid-century, and what strikes me is how she has dug into and scraped away at the block to build up a still life of familiar items. I'm really drawn to that apple, or is it a pear, in the foreground, the way it sits slightly off-kilter, like it’s just rolled into place. You can imagine her carving out the shape with a tool in one hand, and a reference image, or the fruit itself, sitting on a table in front of her. The contrast between black and white is so stark. With just a few gouges, Schlater makes these lifeless objects come alive. The table, the bowl, the stem of the glass, rendered as positive and negative forms, the work seems to be in constant conversation with itself. These shapes and objects repeat each other, echoing and answering one another. There's something very architectural about how the planes are set up, and I'm reminded of other artists such as Lois Dodd, whose block prints play with the same tensions and patterns. We artists are always looking at each other's work and riffing off of it, a beautiful, non-ending conversation.