Schetsboek met 51 bladen c. 1928 - 1930

This sketchbook with 51 pages was made by Otto Verhagen, though it is not known exactly when. The cover, a muted, earthy tone, feels soft and worn, inviting touch. I'm already imagining the kind of marks held within. Texture and color here are everything; the fabric's weave, subtle and consistent, speaks to the artist's intention to conceal or perhaps, to be guided by this consistent surface. The barely-there 'IV', stamped in the top right corner, hints at a series, a sustained practice, maybe a quiet obsession. I am interested in the way that the smallest interventions can unlock new ways of seeing or experiencing the world. Take Agnes Martin, for example, or even Robert Ryman, who both approached painting as a process of revealing rather than representing. What will Otto Verhagen reveal? I can’t wait to find out.