#06: La Sirena (The Mermaid) 2008

Marina Pallares made this woodcut print, titled #06: La Sirena, and it's a trip. The stark black and white creates this super graphic world, where everything feels both flat and alive with texture. You can practically feel the gouge of the knife as it carves away at the wood. I’m really drawn to the way Pallares uses the black ink to define the form of the mermaid, but also to create this chaotic sea around her. Check out the bottles floating about. The texture is so important, it's almost like the image is vibrating. It's like Pallares is saying, "Hey, art isn't just about what you see, but also about how you feel it in your gut." This piece reminds me of some of those early Expressionist woodcuts, like something by Edvard Munch. I wonder if Pallares feels that connection too? Ultimately, it's a reminder that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth across time and between artists.