Twen Australia 1966

Aat Verhoog made ‘Twen Australia’ using etching and other techniques; a dance of lines, a ballet of the body emerges. It’s like the artist began with the faintest whisper of an idea, letting the acid bite into the plate, guided by intuition and the push-and-pull of the creative process. The figures, rendered in delicate lines, feel both present and ephemeral, as if they might dissolve back into the paper at any moment. I wonder what Verhoog was thinking as they made it? The gestures of the figures – reaching, recoiling, and shielding – speak volumes without uttering a single word. That arm outstretched, like a vine searching for a trellis, communicates a yearning, a desire to connect. It reminds me of work by artists like Paula Rego, who use figurative painting to explore the complexities of human experience. Ultimately, this print reminds us that art is a conversation, and we each bring our own experiences and perspectives to the dialogue.