Untitled 1952

Jean Helion made this untitled drawing in 1952, and it's all about the push and pull of red and blue crayon. You can almost feel Helion working through the composition, line by line. The texture is raw; the marks are immediate. It’s like watching an artist think on paper. Look at how the red scribbles build up around the central form at the top, creating a sense of depth and volume. Then notice how the blue lines cut through, grounding everything with a cooler, more spatial dimension. It’s these dualities that give the piece its energy. Helion reminds me of Guston with his rough, honest approach. Neither artist aims for perfection but instead embraces the messiness of artmaking as a conversation. This drawing is a testament to the fact that sometimes, the most profound statements are made in the simplest of gestures. It’s like Helion is saying, “Here’s the world, in all its beautiful, contradictory chaos.”