In Front of the New York Public Library 1931

Werner Drewes made this print, 'In Front of the New York Public Library', using black ink on paper. I can only imagine the process of carving away at the block to leave this network of marks, this vision of the city. There's something deeply felt in the sharp contrasts between light and shadow, the way the buildings loom with such solidity. Drewes has created a kind of emotional architecture, a city of stark contrasts and powerful geometries. Think about the flag that is waving there, it feels like the wind might really be blowing. What do we feel when we look at this? Do we feel a sense of the city? Do we feel what it is like to be there, confronted by the library? Artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other, and playing with the language of form. This print reminds us that painting, printmaking, all these art forms, are about feeling your way through the world, one mark at a time.