Rotslandschap met bouwval 1939 - 1966

Dirkje Kuik made this etching, titled "Rotslandschap met bouwval," which translates to "Rocky Landscape with Ruin," with incredible attention to detail. You can imagine her hunched over the plate, carefully and slowly building the image up from a series of small marks. I wonder what Kuik was thinking when she made this image? The black ink creates a ruined landscape, somewhere between dream and reality. There’s a sense of both collapse and growth, like nature is reclaiming what was once built. Notice how the buildings seem to emerge organically from the rocks. I’m interested in the textures –the rough, jagged edges of the stone and the soft, feathery lines suggesting foliage. The ink is thin in places, allowing the paper to breathe. Overall, the composition is both chaotic and harmonious. And it makes me think about Piranesi, an Italian artist known for his etchings of fantastical, ruined architecture. Artists are always in conversation with one another, inspiring new ways of seeing and imagining the world.