Face 1950

Kaoru Kawano's 'Face' is a woodcut print, a process that is so physical, you just know the artist was really in there, wrestling with the material. Look at the contrast between the black and white, it's stark, and that texture makes it feel like you could reach out and touch it. See how those horizontal lines create the face, as if it’s emerging from the grain of the wood itself. There's a kind of vulnerability to it, as if the artist is scraping away at something deep and personal. The eyes are so expressive, yet the mouth is just a gash, it's haunting. It reminds me of some of the German Expressionist prints. Art is this never-ending dialogue, isn't it? We chip away, make our marks, and hope it resonates. It's not about perfect answers, but about keeping the conversation going.