Patterns In Ammonia 1948

Kent Hagerman’s ‘Patterns In Ammonia’ is an etching, so it’s made by scratching into a metal plate and using acid to deepen those lines, then inking it up and printing it. I really love how the marks swarm and gather, almost like a rain cloud sitting over this industrial scene. It’s all about these contrasts between light and dark, which is what etching is so good at. The tank-like forms, those big, round volumes, they’re so solid and real, but they're built up with lines that are just scribbles. They’re fragile, even though they look so strong. Look at the way the sky is rendered – it's soft and smudgy, like it's about to pour. That feeling of an oppressive atmosphere is carried through the whole image, especially where the smoke stacks rise out of the architecture. It reminds me of some of the more graphic and less colourful works of the British artist Frank Auerbach. There’s a real commitment to mood over accuracy, and I find that really moving.