Verlaten land 1975

Harrie Gerritz made "Verlaten land," or "Deserted Land," a print, etching and aquatint, with Chine-collé, in 1977. The image is built from careful lines, like a technical drawing. The marks feel precise but the perspective is off, slightly wonky. I can feel the artist working through an idea of place. The surface is so considered. See how Gerritz uses flat black to create a void at the center of the lower building, playing with ideas of negative space and how much information to give the viewer. The bright blue rectangle to the left pulls the eye. It reminds me of a Mondrian painting. I'm thinking about artists like Agnes Martin, who created these seemingly simple, but actually complex, drawings that ask us to slow down and look closely. Gerritz's print isn't trying to show us one single meaning, but to open up a space for our own interpretations.