Drawing for Chair 1935 - 1942

Jack Bochner made this drawing for a chair, we don’t know when, and with what I can only assume is pencil and paper. The diagrammatic approach to the marks, feels so purposeful, and yet so intuitive. Look at the way the line varies in thickness, how it swells and tapers to create the impression of three-dimensionality. It's like he's trying to understand the object not just visually, but through touch, through the making of this drawing. It reminds me of the way I build up layers in my own work, feeling my way through the process. There's something almost meditative about the repetition of forms, the way he meticulously maps out each curve and angle, almost like a mantra. You can see a chair drawn from the front, back, and side in a very straightforward way, yet the drawing gives you an understanding of more than just the design. Bochner reminds me of Agnes Martin, the same quiet dedication to process, the same understanding that art is a journey, not a destination.