Der Hingst St. Manr (?) 1946

This black ink print by Imre Reiner feels like an illustration from a dream, all scratchy lines and distorted forms. I can imagine Reiner hunched over the plate, pulling these figures out of the darkness. There's a horse, or the idea of a horse, looming large, with these almost spectral figures around it. The marks are so gestural, not quite shading, but like he's feeling his way through the composition, correcting, adjusting as he goes. The faces are so present, like these characters want to break through to our reality. It makes me think about other artists who play with narrative and form, like Grosz or Beckmann. There’s a tension here, a rawness. And ultimately, art-making is a conversation across time, artists inspire, borrow, and build upon each other's ideas.