Profile #2 1953

Nahum Tschacbasov made this intriguing print, Profile #2, using etching, and it's all about the push and pull between abstraction and representation. There's a lot going on, right? Tschacbasov lays down layer after layer of marks and shapes. I like how he uses these strong, dark lines to define forms, but then he also lets the texture of the etching process show through. There is this one area in the lower right corner where a little fish seems to emerge from the chaos, with a very strong line drawing around it, but at the same time embedded into a more abstract setting. Tschacbasov’s prints often remind me of Picasso's cubist portraits, where faces are broken down and reassembled from different viewpoints. But there's also something uniquely personal here, a kind of emotional intensity that draws you in. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself. It does not mean that it has to be tied down to one idea, but that it keeps opening up new possibilities.