Today’s one of those days when I’m just going to give you one pleasing relief block print without a ton of discussion. This linocut by Richard Bergen (USA, 1925-2020) seems appropriate to the end of summer. Bergen is most famous for his large-scale bronze sculptures, and although sculpting and relief block printmaking may share that they both use carving, but I would think it would be a very different process both physically and mentally. This piece doesn’t have a particularly high level of detail or precision for its size, and much of the carving is a bit stylized and impressionistic. I like the vast swirling clouds of the sky, and the contrast of the different patterns on the ground. That’s it! No deep analysis, just sharing a block print that I’m enjoying today! What do you think?
[Picture: Kansas Farm, linocut by Richard Bergen, ca. 1955 (Image from Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art).]
