This exhibition presented a selection of woodcuts by acclaimed Swiss artist Franz Gertsch. The sheer scale of these works, comprising a meticulous rendering of modestly observed phenomena, gives them an extraordinary presence. Products of careful craftsmanship, they involve different types of wood, high quality pigments and handmade Japanese paper.

Gertsch’s work features single human subjects and unpopulated bits of landscape. His portraits of young women look directly out of pictorial space, each quietly confident in her personal identity. They are entitled simply by the first names of their sitters: Natascha (1987), Dominique (1988), Doris (1990) and Silvia (2001/02). The viewer is engaged by intense concentration, applied both to the subject by the artist and the process of his image making. Outdoor scenes are relatively unremarkable corners of the natural world – sometimes from the artist’s own garden – and they are conveyed as being worthy of the closest scrutiny.

Pestwurz (1993), featuring wild flowers, is reminiscent of countless images of similar subject matter by Japanese and Chinese masters, with the same meditative quality. The images Schwarzwasser I (1990/91) and Diptychon (Schwarzwasser) (1995) depict rocks and water, two essential elements of the natural world, similarly carried out through thoughtful observation, the rippling fluid surfaces beautifully tracing the effects of wind and light.

This exhibition was supported by Pro Helvetia.