Collegium Artisticum 91 1991

Branko Bačanović made this work, Collegium Artisticum 91, in what looks like either screen print or lithography – or some other kind of printing process. I like the simple colour palette: black and white. It’s graphic and bold and immediate. The shapes, the wolves, feel so tactile, made up of many marks. Look closely, and you can almost feel the pressure of the artist's hand as he applies each stroke. The texture of the paper adds another layer of depth. Each of these wolves has a very particular expression and feel. Now I wonder what artists were looking at when they made this work? I can see something of the German Expressionist woodcut artists like Kirchner or Schmidt-Rottluff, but also, I’m reminded of the more contemporary work of someone like Kara Walker. But who knows? Art is just one big conversation, right?