It takes great effort for drypoint engraver Ana Alberca to scratch down hard on her copper plates and control the lines, making the works look direct, passionate and powerful, writes Lu Rong.Ana Alberca's abstract red-and-white engravings in the drypoint technique are direct, passionate and powerful. She calls them "simple and meaningless" but everyone can find their own meaning in them.The Spanish artist's solo exhibition is underway at Espacio Versatil Gallery on Taikang Road, along with some wooden sculptures.Alberca, 37, has been producing engravings for more than 15 years. She studied print-making techniques and fine arts in Madrid and opened her own workshop in 1995.Her work has been shown in the International Print and Contemporary Art Editions Fair in Madrid every year as part of the collective exhibition. Her work has been honored with other awards.Most engravings are very simple. Alberca works on copper plate with a sharp needle or stylus and scratches it directly with strong and firm strokes. She doesn't polish the metal plates beforehand, thus the uneven and blurred background of the paper can enhance its texture. Sometimes she deliberately produces imperfections and wrinkles in order to achieve an effect of dirt and wear."I love drypoint technique. It takes great effort to scratch on the hard plate and control the lines, so the work looks direct, passionate and powerful," says Alberca.Her emphasis is on style and impression, not on realism. The abstract lines and waves suggest the Spanish tachism movement of the 1950s and are interesting in themselves. The purity of the strokes is highly expressive."I always use the same colors, white and red, but it doesn't mean anything. I just don't feel well with other colors. And it's not necessary to interpret my works, because they are just simple and meaningless."Perhaps they do express some emotion, but it's always abstract and fleeting. Everyone may find his own feelings in them and there is no limitation," says the artist.Patricia Portillo, Alberca's friend and director of Espacio Versatil, is very fond of the engravings: "I love them. I don't see any special meaning but they simply touch me."She organized Alberca's first solo exhibition in Asia, held three years ago in Hong Kong. This is her second show.Alberca now plans to try more sophisticated engraving techniques and possibly create a mix of engraving and photography.