Man and Woman #2 1947

Leonard Nelson made this woodcut, Man and Woman #2, in 1947. It’s all about the push and pull of black ink on white paper. You can almost feel the artist carving away at the block. I love the way he’s used pattern to describe form, like the zig-zag lines that make up the figures' clothes and hair. There's something really satisfying about the textures he's created. Look at the way the background is made up of tiny lines, so close together they almost vibrate. The artist also leaves areas of the paper untouched and these stark white shapes become the figures' faces and legs. It's like a dance between positive and negative space. Nelson’s approach reminds me a little of some of the German Expressionists, like Kirchner, who were also exploring the raw power of woodcut printing at the beginning of the century. For me, this print feels like a conversation across time, a reminder that art is always building on what came before.