Untitled

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Comment by Resident Curator on November 9, 2017 at 11:35am

Curator’s Comments: 

 

This graphite drawing is understated at first viewing, but has strong psychological pull.   The dense cluster of figures on the subway platform give way to a myriad of approaches to portraiture and degrees of abstraction while maintaining integrity as a group. I find the diminishing scale moving across the composition to be intriguing; not quite hierarchal in nature, the scale also doesn’t abide by anticipated spatial tenets of perspectives.  Instead, the larger bodies crowd the entrance to the subway car, building up a visual tension at the entrance.  The characters that trail away to the right of the space first seem to confront the viewer, and then avert their collective gaze. The large floating eye off in the distance reinforces the idea of the gaze, while additional strange distorted figures float across the scene.  I also find the gradation of value on the paneled ceiling adds visual interest and balances the weight below.  However, in its complexity, it contributes to the slightly claustrophobic mood of the underground gathering.