Kyoto-wa 1985

This is Al Held's drawing, Kyoto-wa, made with colored pencil, graphite, and ink on paper. Imagine Held sketching away, layering those shapes one on top of another. I see those translucent planes and lines, almost floating. The warm yellows and oranges against those cool blues and greens - what a combo! He's wrestling with space, no doubt. I think he is trying to build a world, and I can feel the push and pull. It reminds me of some of the early modernists playing with perspective, but Held puts his own spin on it. The way those circles intersect with the rigid geometric forms is quite something. He's making order and chaos dance together. And that's what being an artist is all about, isn't it? Finding that sweet spot where control meets accident and something new emerges.