Nigel Greenwood 1972

Curator: Barry Flanagan created this intaglio, titled "Nigel Greenwood," and it is currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: There's a raw quality to this print, it feels unfinished yet compelling in its depiction of creative introspection. The sketchy lines create an informal, almost intimate atmosphere. Curator: Considering intaglio's origins, the incised lines suggest a hidden narrative etched into memory, like the deep grooves of lived experience. The figure’s gaze is directed inward, perhaps contemplating their own artistic process. Editor: I wonder about the process itself. What kind of labor went into etching these plates? Was it painstaking, or free-flowing like the sketch suggests? Curator: Perhaps Flanagan intended to mirror the subject’s own creative journey through the deliberate yet imperfect nature of printmaking, highlighting the human element. Editor: It certainly reminds me that art, in its making and its subject, is always about labor and the lives of the people involved, from artist to subject. Curator: A fitting reminder of the shared space of creating and living. Editor: Indeed, a beautiful example of how material processes and symbolic representation can come together to depict the creative class.