IMAGE:23 2019

Thomas Riesner made IMAGE:23 with ink on paper. I see a face staring back at me, almost like a strange bird or maybe a distorted human. Those lines, like stiff feathers, bristling from its head – they must have come from a quick flick of the wrist, a decisive moment. I know that feeling! The marks are scratchy and full of energy, giving the whole thing a kind of nervous intensity. The eyes are slightly misaligned, adding to its strange, unsettling charm. You can see the artist searching, maybe not quite knowing where he was going but trusting the process. It’s fascinating how such simple marks can create something so expressive. It reminds me of some of the weirder faces I've seen in folk art, or maybe even a bit of Picasso's early stuff, where he was just messing around with form. There’s a sense of freedom here. Like Riesner is not afraid to let the drawing be weird, to embrace the unexpected. And that's what makes it so compelling, I think.