Untitled 2021

This untitled etching by EtchingRoom1 really gets under my skin with its handmade feel. The stark contrast of black ink on paper screams process. You can almost smell the acid and see the artist's hand wobble as they press the plate. There's a wonderful texture to the whole image, like a gritty dream. Look at the way the artist suggests light filtering through the gridded window, or the little lamps hanging above. Those marks aren’t about perfection, they're about feeling. Then there's the figure on the bed, dreaming perhaps of the bus depicted in the artwork on the wall, and all the tiny domestic objects scattered around the room. Each area pulses with a different kind of energy, a different kind of mark. It reminds me a little of the prints of Max Beckmann. There's a similar intensity, and that same embrace of the imperfect. This piece feels less about answers and more about the endless, beautiful questions.