Natasha Kurchanova reviews Jackson Pollock: A Collection Survey, 1934-1954 at Museum of Modern Art, New York, on view through March 13, 2016.

Kurchanova writes: "Apart from large canvases covered by Pollock’s signature all-over web of patterned, dripped or sculpted paint, a range of his smaller abstract paintings adds complexity to our understanding of his work as that of an 'action' painter… Pollock’s active engagement with printing presents his achievement as a painter to us from a completely different angle and complicates the understanding of his work as based in physical action and unmediated involvement of the artist’s hand. Printing is as much a mechanical process as it is a handcrafted one. Knowing that Pollock used it continuously in the course of his career makes us reconsider the significance of unmediated physical involvement with material frequently attributed to his work."