Drawbridge 1936

This print, Drawbridge, was made by Milton Avery in 1936. Look at those lines, scratched into a metal plate, then inked and pressed onto paper. I love imagining Avery working on this; the way the acid bites into the metal, each line a decision, a commitment. The bridge itself is so dynamic, almost as if it's dancing. It reminds me of de Kooning's paintings – the energy, the sense of movement. Avery wasn't trying to capture a realistic scene, but rather the feeling of the place. He’s simplifying the scene, almost like shorthand, but he captures the feeling of industry and the openness of a port, as well as the formal excitement of the shapes of the cranes. Painters, we're all in conversation, right? Each artwork is a response to something else, a continuation of a dialogue that's been going on for centuries.