Untitled 1934

This is an untitled print by Carlos Merida, made with lithographic ink on paper. The bold black marks create loose figures, with some areas densely packed and others quite sparse, almost like he’s feeling his way around the image. I find myself drawn to the textures. The lithographic ink gives a sort of velvety, granular quality where it's applied thickly, but elsewhere it’s thin and watery, staining the page. It's like looking at a landscape in a dream, all misty and obscured. Look at the way the ink bleeds out from the head of the figure on the left, softening the edges and blurring the form. The contrast between the fluid ink washes and crisp lines creates a dynamic tension, suggesting a process of building up and then dissolving form. Like with the work of Agnes Martin, this piece is about the joy of looking closely and thinking about how artworks come into being. Ultimately, art is a conversation, full of questions that don't necessarily need answers.