Molten Metal 1929

Michael Joseph Gallagher made this dynamic woodcut, Molten Metal, at an unknown date. It's amazing to see how much texture and light Gallagher coaxes from just black and white. The composition pulses with the heat and energy of industry. Look at the bottom of the image. See how the white lines carve out these streams of molten metal, almost as if the black is actively pushing back the light, which creates this tension that gives the image so much life. I love how the artist shows the workers in the scene. They're small but mighty, dwarfed by the machinery yet completely in control of it. The composition makes me think of artists like Diego Rivera, who similarly depicted industry and labor. But Gallagher brings a real rawness that feels super modern. It’s a reminder that art is about seeing familiar things in new ways, and that conversation between artists never really stops.