1994, The Paper, 8 .5 x11 inches, reduction woodcut, (1 out of 4) by Kenney Mencher
FREE SHIPPING
Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This is part of my Fresh Finds series—where I’m digging back into my archive and releasing works from the ’90s that I’ve kept flat and safe all these years. These are pieces that helped shape me as an artist, and instead of keeping them hidden away, I thought it would be meaningful to offer them to collectors who’ve followed my work and might want a piece of that journey. They’re part of my legacy.
This woodcut is from 1994 and is titled The Paper. It’s a reduction woodcut, meaning I carved and printed it in stages from a single block, cutting away more wood between each color pass—in this case, just black on white. Once a reduction woodcut is finished, the block can’t be reused, so the edition is truly limited. This is print 1 of 3, and I never made more. It’s 8.5 x 11 inches on paper and was printed by hand.
This image is one of those that came out of watching old films and pausing the VCR—trying to catch a compelling composition through all the static. It’s not directly from a known film, more like a fusion of visual memories. There's a strong film noir vibe—two figures lit by slatted window light, their faces broken into planes and shadows. Think Edward Hopper meets German Expressionism, with some Elmer Bischoff thrown in.
Stylistically, the image is highly abstracted and graphic. The figures are suggested through angles, light, and contrast rather than traditional modeling. You can still feel the mood, the space, the emotional pull between them—but it’s done with economy and energy. The strong diagonal light lines from the blinds are especially important; they don’t just describe the space, they set the emotional tone—claustrophobic, tense, and cinematic.
This is the kind of work that reflects what I was experimenting with in grad school: bold composition, emotional storytelling, and formal reduction. It connects to my larger body of work in its focus on quiet interactions, ambiguous narratives, and the influence of photography and cinema.
Details:
Title: The Paper
Medium: Reduction woodcut
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches (paper size)
Image printed in black on white paper
Year: 1994
Edition: 1 of 3
Hand-pulled print
Unframed
Excellent condition, stored flat
FREE SHIPPING
Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This is part of my Fresh Finds series—where I’m digging back into my archive and releasing works from the ’90s that I’ve kept flat and safe all these years. These are pieces that helped shape me as an artist, and instead of keeping them hidden away, I thought it would be meaningful to offer them to collectors who’ve followed my work and might want a piece of that journey. They’re part of my legacy.
This woodcut is from 1994 and is titled The Paper. It’s a reduction woodcut, meaning I carved and printed it in stages from a single block, cutting away more wood between each color pass—in this case, just black on white. Once a reduction woodcut is finished, the block can’t be reused, so the edition is truly limited. This is print 1 of 3, and I never made more. It’s 8.5 x 11 inches on paper and was printed by hand.
This image is one of those that came out of watching old films and pausing the VCR—trying to catch a compelling composition through all the static. It’s not directly from a known film, more like a fusion of visual memories. There's a strong film noir vibe—two figures lit by slatted window light, their faces broken into planes and shadows. Think Edward Hopper meets German Expressionism, with some Elmer Bischoff thrown in.
Stylistically, the image is highly abstracted and graphic. The figures are suggested through angles, light, and contrast rather than traditional modeling. You can still feel the mood, the space, the emotional pull between them—but it’s done with economy and energy. The strong diagonal light lines from the blinds are especially important; they don’t just describe the space, they set the emotional tone—claustrophobic, tense, and cinematic.
This is the kind of work that reflects what I was experimenting with in grad school: bold composition, emotional storytelling, and formal reduction. It connects to my larger body of work in its focus on quiet interactions, ambiguous narratives, and the influence of photography and cinema.
Details:
Title: The Paper
Medium: Reduction woodcut
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches (paper size)
Image printed in black on white paper
Year: 1994
Edition: 1 of 3
Hand-pulled print
Unframed
Excellent condition, stored flat
FREE SHIPPING
Shipping takes 3–4 Weeks
This ships from Round Lake Beach, Illinois. A suburb outside of Chicago.
I use UPS and sometimes US Post.
This is part of my Fresh Finds series—where I’m digging back into my archive and releasing works from the ’90s that I’ve kept flat and safe all these years. These are pieces that helped shape me as an artist, and instead of keeping them hidden away, I thought it would be meaningful to offer them to collectors who’ve followed my work and might want a piece of that journey. They’re part of my legacy.
This woodcut is from 1994 and is titled The Paper. It’s a reduction woodcut, meaning I carved and printed it in stages from a single block, cutting away more wood between each color pass—in this case, just black on white. Once a reduction woodcut is finished, the block can’t be reused, so the edition is truly limited. This is print 1 of 3, and I never made more. It’s 8.5 x 11 inches on paper and was printed by hand.
This image is one of those that came out of watching old films and pausing the VCR—trying to catch a compelling composition through all the static. It’s not directly from a known film, more like a fusion of visual memories. There's a strong film noir vibe—two figures lit by slatted window light, their faces broken into planes and shadows. Think Edward Hopper meets German Expressionism, with some Elmer Bischoff thrown in.
Stylistically, the image is highly abstracted and graphic. The figures are suggested through angles, light, and contrast rather than traditional modeling. You can still feel the mood, the space, the emotional pull between them—but it’s done with economy and energy. The strong diagonal light lines from the blinds are especially important; they don’t just describe the space, they set the emotional tone—claustrophobic, tense, and cinematic.
This is the kind of work that reflects what I was experimenting with in grad school: bold composition, emotional storytelling, and formal reduction. It connects to my larger body of work in its focus on quiet interactions, ambiguous narratives, and the influence of photography and cinema.
Details:
Title: The Paper
Medium: Reduction woodcut
Size: 8.5 x 11 inches (paper size)
Image printed in black on white paper
Year: 1994
Edition: 1 of 3
Hand-pulled print
Unframed
Excellent condition, stored flat
