Untitled 1967

Hedda Sterne made this untitled drawing with pencil on paper, and the process feels super present. The top part is like a concentrated scribble, a dense cloud of marks pulled together. Then, as you look down, the pencil strokes loosen, becoming more like individual raindrops. I love how the texture shifts – from the thick, almost velvety dark mass at the top to the light, dispersed strokes below. It's like the drawing is breathing, the energy dissipating as it moves down the page. Looking at the top, you can almost feel the pressure of her hand, the energy she put into making each mark. It makes you wonder what she was thinking about, what she was feeling, as she made this work. It feels a bit like Agnes Martin’s explorations of line and space, but with this added layer of gestural energy. It reminds us that art is really just a conversation, across time and between artists. Sterne invites us to consider what drawing can be – a space for thinking, feeling, and questioning.