Ex libris van Eugène Strens 1909 - 1980

This bookplate for Eugène Strens is likely a linocut or woodcut, a monochrome puzzle of type and shape. The anonymous artist is working with positive and negative space, thinking about how the black ink sits on the page. It's all about process, right? I love the way the repeated word "Ex Libris" is scattered around the central block of text, like an echo or a visual rhyme. Each block is sharply delineated, a crisp edge meeting the paper. It's so clean. The interplay of these graphic elements creates a sense of movement, a subtle dynamism that keeps the eye dancing across the surface. Thinking about other artists who played with text, I'm reminded of someone like Jenny Holzer, but this is earlier, more modest, more about the love of books and less about power. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation.