Geabstraheerde studie van een zwarte man before 1935

This is Wico Jager’s ‘Abstract Study of a Black Man’, made with printmaking. What a great title! It's like, what does it mean to abstract a person? It’s a powerful choice to use black and white, reducing the visual information to its simplest form. This lets us concentrate on the bold shapes and the relationship between light and shadow. The artist made this by carving away at a block. You can almost feel the pressure of the knife making these distinct marks. Notice how the lines aren't always perfect. There's a roughness that gives the portrait character. I like the way the black ink sits on the surface, emphasizing the texture of the paper. See that thick vertical line just behind the figure? It creates a kind of visual echo, adding depth and tension to the image. It reminds me a little of early Expressionist woodcuts, like something by Kirchner. Except, Jager’s got his own way of doing things. This piece feels like it’s part of a bigger conversation, a reminder that art is always building on what came before.