Rose 1975

Jay Moon made this print, ‘Rose,’ in 1975, and it’s a real study in contrasts. The marks are all these fine, scratchy white lines, almost like he's drawing with light instead of paint. You can see the hand of the artist so clearly; it feels like the process is right there on the surface. I love how the face is half in shadow, but the eye still grabs you. And then there’s this tiny rose. It’s like a whisper of softness against the bold lines of the face. The teeth are rendered with such precision, they seem to dominate. It’s the kind of detail that reminds me of how Chuck Close used to build up these massive portraits from tiny units of information. There is a similar way that Moon builds this image from a collection of fine lines. It's a reminder that art is not just about what you see, but how you see. It’s about the questions we ask and the stories we tell ourselves along the way.