Albertina, Vienna 1969

Here's Helmut Goering's 'Albertina, Vienna' from 1969, made with etching on paper. What strikes me is how he gets so much information across with such a limited palette. The magic here is really in the mark making. The texture of the lines themselves, and how they create tone through density, feels almost sculptural. If you look closely at the figures in the foreground, you can almost see Goering working out the composition as he goes. They feel sketched and immediate, but still completely solid. You see him thinking through line, almost like automatic drawing, working out the kinks in real time. For me, Goering's economy of mark-making is reminiscent of the works of Morandi. Each artist found something unique within a limited scope of color and subject matter. Both invite us to look closer, and consider how art is an ongoing conversation across time.