The Table by John Kaericher

Below is a print from my printmaking professor, John Kaericher, at Northwestern College. John did his MFA at the University of Iowa at their peak in the 60's working under Mauricio Lasansky. John offered this piece to me as a wedding gift (what a great gift by the way!). Karina and I have been making an effort to purchase work by those we have studied with both professors and fellow students.

I love this piece of John's. Not only because of the Eucharistic subject matter, but the rendering is dark and rich. The more I look at it I recall conversations and his frequent allusions to the work of Alberto Giacometti and Kathe Kollwitz. Can I see their influence upon him in this print? I think particularly the line in Giacometti's paintings might emerge as an influence. Kollwitz is a bit of a stretch. John did mention that some of the figures in the image are friends and family. The image gives a strong insight into his theology as well where the the Lord's Supper is primarily a communal event and not a individualized transaction between self and God.