[no title] 1995

Curator: What strikes me first is the stark, almost brutal contrast of black and white. It feels raw, primal even. Editor: Indeed. This untitled etching by Per Kirkeby, held within the Tate Collections, embodies a tension we often see in his work between abstraction and representation, a space where the personal and the political collide. Curator: Do you see the dripping lines as decay, a visual metaphor for the erosion of power structures, perhaps? The dense, dark strokes at the top feel oppressive. Editor: It could be read that way. I'm drawn to the vertical lines – they remind me of ancient runes or perhaps even geological strata, suggesting layers of meaning and time. I think of a cultural memory, a weight we carry. Curator: Perhaps it is the way we try to decode symbols, assigning meaning that may or may not be there. Editor: Possibly. Ultimately, this print reflects the subjective and ever-shifting relationship between the artist, the artwork, and us.