The Bather c. 20th century

Editor: This is "The Bather" by Robert John Gibbings, a striking woodcut. The sharp contrasts and simplified forms give it a very dramatic, almost theatrical, feel. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, the delicious austerity! It feels almost like a memory, doesn't it? Black and white, yes, but the negative space is the real protagonist. It's the unsaid, the unspoken. Imagine what she’s thinking, looking out to the sea. Editor: I hadn’t thought about that, the unsaid. It makes me wonder what secrets the sea holds for her. Curator: Exactly! Or perhaps what secrets *she* holds from the sea? Now, doesn’t that change the whole composition? It’s quite magical, isn't it, how the starkness invites so much speculation.