Untitled c. 1969

George Bunker made this untitled drawing with what looks like charcoal on paper, but I bet it was a lot more than just that. Just look at that dense, scribbled energy, almost like he was wrestling the image out of the paper. It feels as though the drawing has emerged through searching gestures. I can imagine Bunker outside, maybe in a wooded area, quickly trying to capture the chaos of nature, those trees and branches. The line becomes the thing. I feel like Bunker is having a conversation with artists like Guston, Kline, or Mitchell. There’s this great lineage of mark-makers, where one artist learns from another. He is looking, responding, and adding to the mix. Each mark a feeling, an intention, all adding up to an expressive whole. I love this drawing’s energy and unpretentious feel.