Woman in the country 1927

Mikuláš Galanda made this woodcut, a print called "Woman in the Country," with ink and a block of wood. I imagine him carving away at the block, figuring out how to make a vision appear. I can imagine the artist feeling like he was building a world, one made of shapes and patterns. He probably had to consider how the black ink would define the composition. See how the simplified shapes create a strong contrast between light and dark? It’s bold, right? This reminds me of other artists I've looked at, like Gauguin, who used printmaking for similar effects – almost like a shortcut for painting. I guess artists are always talking to each other somehow, in this big conversation across time and place. Printmaking and painting are definitely cousins, both trying to make sense of the world through marks and images. I think Galanda does that so beautifully here, capturing something essential about the Slovakian landscape and the people who inhabit it.