Asfalt - hars 1978

This print, 'Asfalt - hars,' by Pieter van der Heyden, pulls you in with its quiet strangeness and the way he approaches mark-making. It's like he’s thinking out loud, etching his way through uncertainty. The surface is so worked over, creating a gritty texture. It gives the whole piece a muted, melancholic mood. Then BAM - there's this splash of vivid blue! Is it a cloth? Is it the answer? It’s a total disruption of the muted tones, a jolt of the unexpected. I love how it just hangs there, a crumpled, chaotic gesture against the rigid lines of the table and boxy shapes. Van der Heyden shares some DNA with artists like Giorgio Morandi, who found endless variation in the simplest objects. Both artists remind us that art is a conversation, not a lecture. There's room for doubt, and the best art leaves space for us to bring our own interpretations to the table.