Petroglyph Design 1935 - 1942

Lala Eve Rivol created this "Petroglyph Design" and it’s all about raw energy; she's using what looks like colored pencil, and a limited palette, to channel the feel of ancient rock art. The texture is key; you can see all the little marks, giving the surface a kind of vibrating, handmade quality. I love the way the forms are outlined in red, popping against the gray background, like a neon sign. The image feels both old and new. Look at that figure on the right, that almost looks like a dog, it’s so playful and strange, like something from a dream. Rivol’s work has echoes of Forrest Bess; both artists tapped into something primal and mysterious with their symbolic languages. It's like they’re having a conversation across time. And that’s what art is, right? An ongoing, open-ended dialogue.