Blank 1937 - 1938

Editor: We’re looking at “Blank,” a pencil drawing on paper created around 1937-38 by Niels Larsen Stevns, held at the SMK. It’s… simple, almost sparse. On the left, there's a faint sketch of what looks like a mother and child, and on the right, a page with lines as if awaiting notes. It feels like a fleeting thought, caught on paper. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Fleeting is a perfect word! It's as if we’ve stumbled upon the artist's sketchbook. Larsen Stevns was deeply interested in capturing human emotion and spiritual themes, wouldn't you agree? What fascinates me is the emptiness – the blankness on the right-hand page. It amplifies the intimacy of that tender embrace on the left. It's an invitation, isn't it? Editor: An invitation to… what, exactly? To imagine what those figures are thinking, or feeling? Curator: Perhaps both. And maybe it is an invitation to us, as viewers, to consider our own experiences of connection, loss, or contemplation. The simplicity draws you in, wouldn't you agree, forcing you to fill in the narrative gaps. There’s a lovely tension here: the captured moment versus infinite possibility. Editor: That makes sense. The blank page does kind of put the onus on us. I was so focused on the sketch, I didn’t realize the blankness was so deliberate. It gives me a lot to think about! Curator: Exactly. Sometimes, what’s not there speaks volumes. That blankness opens space to invite viewers into the moment! A good sketch makes an exhibition great by the open feeling, in my humble opinion!