Jule- og nytårskort 1947

Axel Hou made this Christmas and New Year card in 1947, and it’s printed in black ink on paper. The entire composition is built from tiny etched marks that together create a range of dark tones. It’s kind of amazing when you think about it, that all the shapes, the figures, the wings of the angel, even the feeling of the forest, is made up of such simple marks. There’s something about printmaking, the way it repeats and multiples images, that reminds us that art making is a process. It’s not about getting it perfect the first time, it’s about trying, failing, repeating, starting again. You can see it in the marks on the paper, the ways some lines are darker than others, thicker, more defined. It reminds me of Max Klinger, another printmaker who created his own imaginative worlds with black and white etching. Both artists invite us to consider the richness of a monochrome palette, and the play of imagination within a limited frame. Art is like a conversation that takes place across time, each artist responding to, and building on, the work of those who came before.