Bez názvu (Untitled) 1998

This untitled print was made by Bohumil Krátky at an unknown date and with unspecified media. The sombre colors give this piece an uncanny feeling. It reminds me a little of Goya’s darker prints, but with a different kind of dread. The surface looks rough, as if Krátky may have scratched or scrubbed the plate, and you can see how the mark-making becomes more labored and frantic towards the top of the image. I think Krátky's process is exposed rather than concealed; it almost becomes the subject. You can see the lines of the block and how he’s struggled to get the balance of light and dark, using an almost ghostly star of david to light up the composition. It gives me a feeling of the artist trying to find a symbol in the dark. It feels like an act of both remembering and forgetting.