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the knot at its core). Across the bottom, a textured strip of blue (apparently a length of plastic binding-tape) suggests a sea horizon.

An equally memorable image is Fruits of Their Labors, in which the central half-circle of red--a slice of watermelon--serves as the bridge between the green-and-black foliage of the lower register, and a man, with a singing black bird atop his hat, in the upper region--and, floating above them all, a little smiling sun. Here the balance of bright red against the somber black-and-green of the lower part of the print, and the cheerful triangle of shoulders, face, bird, and sun, above, provide a visual experience that lies beyond interpretation, perhaps beyond the need for interpretation, and is quintessentially Ojedan.

Naúl Ojeda is one of the foremost woodcut artists of his time. He lived much of his life far from his native land, and the longing that suffuses his work is one source of his kinship with all of us. His work partakes of the great theme of all American art, the search for home (indeed, one of his prints in this show is titled Looking for a Place). One senses, admiring these works, the wistfulness of one who has left precious things behind--the sewing machine by the window, the cafes at the waterfront, the noonday light on the streets of home. What the artist does for us is to both leave those things behind, and preserve them for us through his work--and not only the things, but the longing (or the laughter, or the sorrow) that inheres in them.

Naúl Ojeda: Woodcuts and Linocuts will open at the Washington Printmakers Gallery, 1732 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009, on 30 December, and run through 25 January 2004. There will be two receptions: the first on Friday 2 January from 5:00 to 8:00 pm; the second on Sunday 11 January from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. There will also be a Gallery Talk on Thursday 8 January at 12:00 noon. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday 12:00 to 6:00 pm, Friday 12:00 to 9:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 12:00 to 5:00 pm. For information, telephone 202:332.7757 or email wpg@visi.net. For updated information, visit the WPG website, www.washingtonprintmakers.com.