Cloudburst 1990

Arthur Werger made this etching, Cloudburst, at some point in 1990. It's all about seeing the world through a rainy lens. The real star here is the ground, slick with rain. Werger captures that particular wet-street gleam using a really clever etching technique. Look at how the light bounces off those shiny squares, it almost feels like you could slip on them! And the dark, ghostly figures with their umbrellas? They're like shadows, blurred and softened by the rain. It reminds me of some of Whistler's etchings, the way he plays with atmosphere and light. But Werger’s got his own thing going on, a modern take on urban life. It’s less about the what and more about the how – how we see, how we move, how we feel in the middle of a downpour. It’s all process, a conversation between the artist, the plate, and the rain itself.