Persephine 1960

George Lockwood made this print, Persephone, by pulling black ink across a plate, maybe with a squeegee or a roller, pressing it hard to the page. You can feel the give and take, the pressure, the release. I imagine Lockwood, with his intense darks, trying to capture something unseen. It's like he's wrestling with the material, trying to pin down a shadow, a fleeting impression. There's a tension here, a struggle to give form to something elusive, like trying to catch smoke in your hands. He's pushing and pulling the ink to see what emerges. Lockwood's mark-making feels like a continuation of what artists like Goya and others have been doing, digging into the darkness to reveal something profound. I imagine him in conversation with other artists, all grappling with the same questions, the same uncertainties. Each mark is a question, an exploration, a step into the unknown. Ultimately, it's a reminder that painting is not about answers, but about the ongoing search, the endless possibilities that emerge when we embrace the ambiguity and uncertainty of the process.