Terrain / 4 Directions

Medium: Reduction woodcut
Dimensions: 15 x 32 inches (Image) 18 x 34 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1950
Date finished: 1999
Edition: of 10

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist):

"Terrain / 4 Directions is one of Mary Farrell’s largest and most intricate pieces featuring her iconic portrayal of hands. Reduction woodcut is a notoriously complex technique that requires a great deal of planning. And yet, Farrell conveys a sense of fluid immediacy with the sensitive and sketch-like quality of the forearms and hands. They dance together with strength, grace, and perpetual motion, while the background texture calls to mind both fingerprints and rippling water. Like fish gathered together and circling in a whirlpool, the hands engage in an animated, yet unspoken conversation. I see their vibrant, intertwined outlines as a representation of the vitality and connectedness of all living things."