Drawings: Burnt offerings
You Should Own Art, Fifth Edition
The writer Bruce Chatwin was a fabulist. He’s most famous for writing about his travels. He’s most criticized for telling the story he wanted to tell regardless of whatever the facts might be. He told the story of the world he chose to believe in. I fully realize these are not the times to celebrate someone who blended the journalism with imagination. However, there are things that I also choose to believe. These are things that admit some measure of poetry into my pretty empirically-regulated worldview.
One of these things has to do with drawing: That the reason many of the drawings left to us by our prehistoric ancestors are in very remote parts of caves is because the acoustics there were ideal for ritual. Sound is magnified there, resonances double. When you shout, stomp, sing, clap, the sound you produce is more than you. That the drawings were integral to these rituals, and similarly were more than the artists who produced them. That drawing, simple drawing, with the most elemental implements we possess - burnt sticks - retains the resonance of those times and the purposes to which it was put.
To sum up, I really love drawing. And I think it’s important.
As always, I hope you use the works below as points of departure to explore the artists and their work.
To the art!
“The Fourth State of Matter Series, #1”
Graceina Samosir
Graphite, charcoal, soft pastel, wax crayon, and colored pencil on printmaking paper
USD$390
Oof! There is so much here: time, intimacy, pets. I love the composition, the quality of the draftsmanship, and the economy of color.
You can buy this work at Graceina’s website.
Graceina’s website (treasures!)
“Big Boquet”
Lauren Veevers
A2 Original Ink Drawing on white paper
USD$50.15
You might be tempted to call this quirky or cute. I’m not saying that it’s not those things, but it is also thoughtfully and skillfully realized. There’s a ton of energy, and there is an equal amount of control.
You can buy this work from Lauren’s Etsy store.
“Fallen Studio Chairs 3”
Jason Line
Charcoal on paper
GBP£475
This is part of the long tradition of artists rendering and interpreting their immediate surroundings. Close observation transforms the mundane into the profound. And, I love that this is almost cubist in affect.
You really, really need to take a look at Jason’s still life works.
You can buy this from the 155A Gallery here.
“The Queen Artist Proof”
Malika Favre
Gold foiled on Plike paper
GBP£280
I could create an edition of Y.S.O.A. just around Malika’s work. She’s a French artist working in London. You’ve seen her work on the cover of the New Yorker and other venues that appreciate elegance and wit. This is from a set of playing cards she created in collaboration with a fashion label. If you’d like to learn a bit more about her, here’s a wee video profile.
You can buy this work from Malika’s site here.
“After Rubens”
Andrew Redding
Natural Red and black chalk on handmade linen paper
USD$200
Copying the works of masters that have come before you is time-honored practice among artists. These copies often produce lovely little miracles in of themselves. Here, Andrew is turning to Peter Paul Rubens for instruction and inspiration. I love this.
You can buy this work from Andrew’s website here.
“Day 13: Channel Something”
Mags Munroe
Ink on 190 gsm paper
USD$100
I find Mags’s work so exciting. She just gets after it in a pretty real and honest way.
You can buy this work from Mags’s site here.
“Mar Adentro”
Nora Maité Nieves
Graphite pencil and ink on paper
USD $675
I probably shouldn’t inflict my own associations with this work on you, but for sure part of the appeal to me is that it reminds me of the Malecón in Havana, which separates the sea from the city.
You can buy this work here.
Incidentally, the site that is selling this work, Showfields, claims to be “the most interesting store in the world”. They are not entirely wrong.
“Pots”
Hillary Butterworth
Charcoal drawing on paper
USD$215
I understand that most people don’t want to know how the magic trick is done. Not me, I like to know. I love that you can feel the construction of the forms, they are very present. Still magical.
You can buy this work from Hillary at her shop here.
“Path of Her”
Eriko Tsogo
Gel pen and ink on paper
USD$ 450
Yup, this is intense. But, dang! It’s intense. Eriko has a pretty fascinating body of work. I encourage you to check it out.
You can buy this work here.
"Riches, Spontaneity"
Ravi Zupa
India ink and serigraph on paper mounted to wood
USD$ 425
Hecking yes! This is part of a series that Ravi has at the Hashimoto Gallery. All the others are just as wonderful.
You can buy this work here.
That’s it for this edition. Please let me know what think. Suggestions for editions and intros to artists are always welcome.
And, don’t forget, your friends like art too. Tell them about Y.S.O.A. I’m sure they’d like to hear about on the social medias.