Acrobat on a Horse 1913

Here we have Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's etching, Acrobat on a Horse. Those slashing marks, they’re so intense, like he’s carving a world right out of the metal. I can almost see Kirchner hunched over the plate, working fast, digging into the surface with acid, trying to capture that fleeting moment of balance and tension. It's as if the figures are about to fall apart. It reminds me of my own process – the way I attack a canvas, layering and scraping, searching for the right form. There is a struggle to find the image. He’s wrestling with this scene, trying to pin down something wild and untamed. You can see the influence of other artists of the time, the push towards abstraction. The way he simplified form into sharp, angular shapes. Artists, we’re always talking to each other, across time, across movements. It is as if each work is just a moment in a much longer conversation. It’s about taking risks, pushing boundaries, and embracing the messy, uncertain journey of creation.