Poster for Die Brücke 1907

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this woodcut poster for Die Brücke – The Bridge – a group of expressionist artists in Dresden. I can just imagine him, cutting away at the block of wood, figuring out how to make a face, a body, and some groovy waves of hair. I love the limited colour palette, it's like he's wrestling with the problem of how to make something pop with the least amount of effort. As a painter, I feel this struggle so hard. You can feel his energy, right? Like he's not just making a poster, he's making a statement. Kirchner’s work always feels personal, like he's trying to work something out through the act of making, like another great expressionist Edvard Munch. What a heavy feeling. Artists are always talking to each other, across time and space. We’re all just trying to figure things out together, one painting, print, or poster at a time.