Zes vrouwen met fruit before 1945

Reijer Stolk made this small panel, 'Six Women with Fruit', sometime before 1945. It’s worked into a ground of warm browns, almost like a photographic print, with the figures scraped out like a sgraffito. These women float ethereally, burdened and yet seemingly unbothered by the platters piled with fruit, boxes, and urns, balanced on their heads. It’s interesting to consider the physicality of this medium. The artist carves into the surface, revealing the figures through a process of removal and reduction. Look how Stolk scratched the surface with such speed and ease. This is reminiscent of the American artist Cy Twombly, with his calligraphic lines and scrawled surfaces. Both artists share this quality of open-endedness, a refusal to be pinned down. And both show that art isn't about answers, but about the questions we ask.