Ships and Sun, 4 (Schiffe und Sonne, 4) 1918

Lyonel Feininger made this dynamic woodcut, Ships and Sun, 4, using black ink on paper. It’s a study in contrasts, right? Hard and soft, light and dark – but mostly a conversation between the planned cut and the happy accident. The way the image is built from stark, angular shapes makes me think about the physical act of carving. You can almost feel the resistance of the wood, the way the knife slips and slides. Look closely at the rigging of the ship on the left, how the lines aren't perfect, how they almost seem to vibrate with energy. That’s where the magic happens. Feininger’s approach reminds me a bit of my own painting process, where I start with a clear idea but let the materials lead me down unexpected paths. This piece, with its echoes of Cubism and German Expressionism, feels like a bridge between different ways of seeing, an ongoing dialogue about how we make sense of the world through art.