Swallows 1919

Troy Kinney made this etching called Swallows sometime in the early 20th century. It’s all lines, like a rapid pen sketch, capturing dancers in mid-motion. I can only imagine the artist standing before his plate, incising these figures, line by line, thinking about Degas, maybe, or some other image of dancers he saw once. The etched lines almost feel like a memory of a movement rather than the thing itself. See how the dancers are both connected and separate? Kinney uses the lightest touch to evoke their fleeting gestures, their bodies almost dissolving into the air around them. The line trailing behind the dancer's foot, for example, emphasizes the arc of her movement, like a swallow in flight. "Swallows" makes me think about the endless conversation between artists across time. Kinney’s been looking at other artists, I’ve been looking at Kinney, and maybe you’ll see my show next. It’s an ongoing, non-linear exchange of ideas, each artist responding, reinterpreting, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.