The poplars in winter 2021

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this painting, Poplars in Winter, with ink. Look at the sureness of the strokes; the way they drag and pull across the surface. I’m thinking about what it might have felt like for Krupa to make this. The physical act of applying ink to the page, how that one gesture can make a trunk or a branch. It’s like a dance; a rhythm between intention and chance. The starkness of the black ink against the white creates a powerful contrast. The bare trees have an energy about them, like they’re reaching out, connecting to something beyond themselves. The horizontal lines create this sense of structure, a kind of framework. Krupa’s definitely playing with ideas of representation, pushing the boundaries of what a landscape can be. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring one another. Paintings offer us different ways of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. Each brushstroke, each layer, is a record of this process, inviting us to engage with the painting.