Anna Rudak is an artist from the Polish port city of Gdansk, where she graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts. Her work ranges from whimsical children’s book illustrations to textile pattern designs.

In her illustrations for Zócalo, she turns her gaze to the natural world. People and animals blend with plants, at once adorning and disguising themselves. Note the shapes surrounding the perched monkey—are they leaves or evanescent humans?

The sharpness of her lines is softened by the textures of her colors, which are infused with aspects of paper collage, silk screen printing, or finely speckled paint. Taken together, her technique owes a debt to the aesthetics of mid-century modern art, yet avoids any trace of nostalgia. It is work very much of our moment.