Der Vogel & Die Frucht 1947 - 1948

Imre Reiner made this woodcut, called Der Vogel & Die Frucht, or The Bird & The Fruit, with a knife and some wood. I can imagine him, carefully gouging away at the surface, letting the image slowly emerge. He probably had to be very patient to achieve the hatching effect. The monochromatic palette and oval format are kind of comforting, a traditional approach. But then, the composition is so, so weird. What is even going on here? There’s a bird, and a fruit, but the space is all wonky, like early Picasso figuring out how to break things open. Looking at this makes me think about Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, with his own woodcuts, and how one artist can inspire another across time. It makes me wonder if there's a conversation happening, some kind of exchange. Anyway, here’s to the messy conversations that unfold when artists use the language of painting!