The Mandrill's Tea Party c. 1945

Veronica Helfensteller made this lithograph, The Mandrill's Tea Party, sometime in the mid-20th century. It's all about mark-making here. The texture comes through in these deliberate, almost frantic strokes. It's like a conversation between precision and wildness, right? Check out the Mandrill's fur. The way she's built up layers of tiny lines and dots, creating this crazy sense of volume and depth. You can almost feel the wiry texture. But then look at the girl sat next to the Mandrill, rendered so simply. A simple, sweet girl with big, blank eyes amid all the drama. It reminds me of Odilon Redon, who also went to the subconscious for his imagery, but her technique is all her own. There's something so unique about how she puts it all together. It's a party, but it's also a puzzle.