Untitled from the portfolio With the Grain of the Wood (Au fil du bois) 1973

Here's a script for the audio guide: This is a woodcut print by Pierre Alechinsky, part of a portfolio called "With the Grain of the Wood," and it's all about the push and pull between the black ink and the untouched white paper. It’s like a conversation, or maybe a really energetic argument, between light and shadow. Look closely, and you can see how the artist lets the texture of the wood grain become part of the image. The marks aren’t trying to hide; they're part of the story. See that dense cluster of white lines near the top left? It’s chaotic, almost like a burst of energy, but it’s balanced by the solid black forms in the lower half. The contrast creates a visual rhythm that keeps your eye moving across the surface. There's a raw quality to this work, almost like you can feel Alechinsky wrestling with the material. It reminds me of the graphic boldness of someone like Emil Nolde, who wasn't afraid to let the wood speak for itself. Art is always a conversation, right? A back-and-forth between what you want to say and what the materials let you say.