Ben 1994

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this print of a bear, Ben, in 1994 using, it looks like, black ink on paper. The process feels very present in this piece. The way the black ink interacts with the paper, it's all about the artist's hand. There's this directness to the marks, the way they build up to create the bear’s form. It's not trying to hide its making. You can almost see the movement of the brush, how the ink bleeds slightly into the paper, giving it this kind of raw, immediate quality. I'm drawn to the bear’s legs. They're rendered with such simple, bold strokes, yet they manage to convey so much about the animal’s weight and posture. It reminds me a little of Franz Kline’s work, but with a touch more… tenderness, maybe? It’s like Krupa is not just depicting a bear, but also capturing something about its essence, its being. Art isn’t about answers, it’s more about opening up possibilities.