Zeven schelpen

Reijer Stolk made this print called Zeven schelpen – Seven Shells – in 1942 using etching. It's a process where you scratch into a metal plate with acid, so it's all about mark-making. I love the way Stolk uses the dark ink to suggest the shells' forms, but also creates this almost abstract pattern on the background. The shells are very tactile, like you could reach out and touch them. Especially that one at the top, with a half-moon shape and some thick lines spiraling around it. It's almost a shell within a shell. The textures make me think of the rough surface of sand or a weathered rock. In some ways it anticipates the abstract expressionist's love of texture, like you see with Antoni Tàpies. But there is also something very Dutch and quiet about this work. It's all about observation and finding beauty in the everyday.