Poissons (Fish) 1951

This is 'Poissons' – that’s French for ‘fish’ – made by Anthony Gross. It is a monochrome print, all delicate lines. I love the sheer variety of marks, and the density of the image. I can imagine Gross making this print, scratching away at a copper plate. It’s an image that emerges through trial, error, and intuition. The overall tone is silvery. Some of the fish are quite detailed, others more like ghostly traces. I can only guess what Gross was thinking, but I get a sense of wonder at the teeming life of the ocean. Look at the way he renders light reflecting off scales, or the spiky fins of the anglerfish. He really gets under the skin, or rather, under the scales of his subject. Gross is in dialogue with other artists of his time, such as Picasso, who also explored themes of nature and metamorphosis in their work. For me, artists are in constant exchange, riffing off each other’s ideas. And this print feels like an invitation to dive into that conversation. Its ambiguity allows for endless interpretations and a deeper connection with our watery world.