The birches 1994

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this print of sparse trees in 1994. Look at the quick marks that make up the trees! I can imagine the artist standing outside in the cold, bundled up, trying to capture the essence of these birches with swift, sure gestures. The ink is thick and juicy in some places, especially where the trunks meet the ground, then scratchy and thin as the branches reach out. It's like he's thinking about how trees grow, how they're rooted but also reaching. I see echoes of Chinese ink painting here. It reminds me how artists build on each other's work across time, a constant conversation with ink, paper, and the natural world. He’s capturing a feeling, a moment, not just a picture of some trees. That’s what makes it interesting, the openness and the invitation to bring your own experience to it.