Grey Still Life 1948

Adja Yunkers made this print, Grey Still Life, on paper in 1948, using color woodcut. Imagine Yunkers carving into wood, wrestling with the grain to bring forth this composition. There's something grounding about the way forms are stacked. The blue and red shapes feel dense and solid like the weight of thoughts taking shape. The composition invites you to imagine the artist in the act of creating, searching for visual equivalents to inner states. Looking at it, I wonder if Yunkers felt a kinship with other artists who embraced the possibilities of abstraction to convey emotional depth. The woodcut adds a rawness and immediacy, inviting us to connect with the artist's direct touch. The artist is in conversation with other artists across time, their creativity sparked by shared ideas. In a way, each artwork is a new beginning.