#25: El Volcán (The Volcano) 2008

Marina Pallares made this small print, El Volcán, probably in her studio. It’s a scene made of graphic marks, almost like a black and white comic. Look at the sky – it's kind of radiating, like energy from the sun, or maybe it’s smoke, or even rain. You can almost feel Pallares scraping away at the block. I can imagine her thinking about other prints, about other artists who have used mark-making to capture the feeling of a place. There's something very human about this landscape, it looks like it's breathing. Notice how the strokes create patterns and textures? The lines build up to create forms, but they also have their own energy. The volcano feels alive, and so does the town at its base. The whole scene pulsates with a kind of raw, simple power. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation, that it's a continuum. Each work inspires the next. And like the best art, this print invites us to bring our own experiences and emotions to the landscape, and to the story it tells.