Furrows, Plate V of a suite of five

Description

In his portfolio of woodcuts Furrows, Winters uses ambiguous biomorphic forms that reflect the artist’s love for science and appreciation of its rich abstract possibilities. The focus of this large composition is a symmetrical, vaguely botanical form which resembles a microscopic specimen magnified many times. Its off-center placement creates tension within the design.
Winters is also interested in creating ambiguities in the relationship between figure and ground. This work was printed from two woodblocks, one bearing the carved figure. The surfaces of both blocks, when inked and printed on the paper, left the pattern of their wood grain, with the grain of one block going in the opposite direction from the grain of the other block. These intersecting patterns confuse the figure/ground relationship and create complexities in an ostensibly simple design.