Embryo 1967

This is Aat Verhoog's "Embryo," an etching on paper. Imagine Verhoog bent over the plate, the acid biting, him watching, waiting, controlling the image's emergence. What I see here are lines, repeated and measured, that become a world of form and feeling. There is something about the precision that is offset by a formlessness, like a mass of cotton or fur. It holds an otherworldly foetus in an egg-like form. I think of other printmakers and the mark-making and world-building of someone like Piranesi. All of us artists, we're in this ongoing conversation, you know? We look at each other's work, steal ideas, and push things further. The horizontal hatching is particularly striking. The way he creates depth with the lines really pulls you in. Ultimately, this piece is about the magic of creation, whether that's on a plate or in the womb. It is an expression of the mystery of life. It's not about fixed meanings; it's about the experience, the feeling, the endless possibilities that art and life offer.