Rietland met bomen c. 1944 - 1990

Kees Stoop made this print, ‘Rietland met bomen’, with etching. Just imagine, the artist carefully incising lines into a metal plate. Each mark, a deliberate act of carving and of labor. The artist repeatedly immersing the plate in acid, the lines bitten deeper and deeper, before finally printing. I love the way he captured this marshy landscape, and how the trees become these vibrating masses of dark marks. You can almost feel the breeze rustling through the reeds. It's like he’s inviting us to pause, to breathe in the stillness of the scene. You know, printmaking is so cool because it allows for multiples, but each print is still unique. It reminds me of other landscape artists, like the Dutch masters, who were always trying to capture the light and mood of their surroundings. And yet, Stoop does something different, something very contemporary. He embraces the process, letting the marks speak for themselves. We, as artists, keep the conversation flowing, across time and media!