Ursula Pfeiffer 2014

Gazmend Freitag made this portrait of Ursula Pfeiffer in 2014 using pencil on paper. It’s a drawing, sure, but in it, I see a conversation unfolding, a back-and-forth between the artist’s gaze and Ursula’s presence. I wonder, what was it like for Gazmend to capture Ursula's likeness? The fine lines, so carefully laid, feel like he's mapping not just her face, but also something of her spirit. It's almost forensic, but tender. I’m really drawn to the way the lines around her eyes and mouth hint at a smile, a kind of knowing, like she's in on a joke. There’s something too in the tradition of portraiture where artists across time are engaged in a shared act of looking and interpreting. Each drawing, a new take, a new conversation. It's all just passing through the artist.