Horses 1918

Acke Aslund created this piece 'Horses' using what looks like a lithographic print. The dominant marks are gestural, like charcoal markings, rendered in brown against a lighter ground. I’m imagining Aslund making this print, perhaps outside on location: the challenge of capturing the muscularity and movement of horses; the shifting light, and clouds scudding across the sky. You can feel him working fast. This print speaks to an embodied experience of seeing, thinking, and feeling the world around him. The texture achieved through lithography lends a softness to the image. It's a testament to the artist's interest in the tonal range of the brown ink. Note Aslund's ability to suggest depth and atmosphere through subtle gradations of tone. It reminds me of the work of other artists like Kathe Kollwitz, who were interested in the graphic arts as a means of social commentary. Each of these artists are in dialogue with one another!