DE-6 1965

Jirí Balcar made this etching, DE-6, sometime during his short life. There's an almost manic energy in the layered marks and scribbles, like he's trying to capture a thought before it disappears. Looking closely, the plate is a sea of lines, a jumble of letters, numbers, and abstract shapes, all fighting for space. Some are bold and assertive, others faint and hesitant. There's a playfulness to the way he combines these disparate elements; a bar graph sits next to a question mark, and the letters "DE" loom large, anchoring the composition. The surface is alive with texture; you can almost feel the scratch of the needle on the metal plate. It’s clear that Balcar wasn’t afraid to let the process show. Balcar’s experimental approach reminds me of Cy Twombly, another artist who embraced the messiness of mark-making. But unlike Twombly's grand, sweeping gestures, Balcar's work feels more intimate, like a private conversation with himself. Ultimately, DE-6 is a reminder that art is not about answers, but about questions and the messy, beautiful process of exploring them.