Tangled Undergrowth 1954

Anthony Gross made this print called 'Tangled Undergrowth' using black ink on white paper. Just looking at it, I’m plunged into a real thicket of lines! I'm trying to imagine what it might have been like for Gross to make it. I guess he was peering into some very overgrown patch of land and trying to capture every tiny stem and leaf. The lines are so dense, you can almost feel the scratch of the branches. It's like he wanted to show us every little bit of the mess. Some areas are more defined, while others fade into a haze of scribbles, creating a sense of depth and confusion, like trying to find your way through a real undergrowth. It reminds me of other artists who got really into nature, like Dürer with his precise botanical studies. The amazing thing about art is that each artist brings their own unique vision, and that makes it new every time. They’re all in conversation, I think, inspiring and pushing each other forward, even across time.