Slootje c. 1944 - 1990

Kees Stoop’s print of a ditch or small stream, well, it's a whole world in black and white lines. Imagine him, maybe out in the Dutch countryside, squinting at the light filtering through those trees. I see the way he’s scratched those lines to create texture—the water almost seems to shimmer, doesn't it? It’s like he’s trying to capture not just what he sees, but how it feels to be there, that quiet stillness. The physicality of printmaking—the pressure, the ink, the bite of the acid—it all leaves its mark. And the way it echoes back to other artists who’ve tried to pin down the fleeting beauty of nature. It's a quiet kind of conversation, isn't it?