Untitled (Sailboats) 1923

This black ink artwork, Untitled (Sailboats), was made as a print by George Josimovich. There’s a real push-pull of shapes happening here. It’s like Josimovich is wrestling with the image, trying to capture the feeling of the sea with these hard, graphic edges. He’s got sailboats, houses, maybe some hills, all crammed together like they’re competing for space. The black ink is so solid, so absolute, it gives everything a kind of weight. I can imagine him carving into that block, pushing against the resistance of the material, trying to find the right balance between light and dark. Each cut is so deliberate. The shapes aren't quite how you would expect, more like a memory of a boat, of a house. I bet he was influenced by Cubism. You see it in how he breaks down the image into different planes. It’s all about energy and motion, not just about representing what’s there. That little patch of sun – or is it a wave? – feels like a burst of light. It's an exchange of ideas across time, isn't it?