On way home 1924

Mikuláš Galanda made this lino-cut, *On way home*, sometime before he died in 1938, probably using a blade to carve into linoleum, and then printing it. It's a scene with figures on a street, and it’s full of interesting contrasts. I wonder about the choice to work so starkly, in black and white, emphasizing the tension between light and shadow. What was it like for Galanda to decide where to cut away material, revealing the paper beneath? It must have taken patience and an eye for simplification. I think that this distillation gives the image its power. There is this one little mark in the bottom left corner which is almost invisible. What does it represent? Is it an accidental mark or is it intentional? I like not knowing! The beauty of printmaking, as with painting, lies in the conversations artists have across time, influencing and inspiring each other's creative processes. Each mark, each choice, is part of an ongoing dialogue, open to endless interpretations.