Personal Illustrations 1 2014

Robert Sammelin made this illustration, sometime in the 20th century, probably with digital tools but who really knows? The way Sammelin approaches mark-making feels almost like a kind of archaeological dig. You can really see the evolution of the image in the final form. Look at the way the linework defines the contours of the figure, but also creates a sense of depth and texture. It's like Sammelin is building up the image layer by layer, revealing it to us stroke by stroke. I love how the color palette of the piece creates such a strange mood. The contrast between the grey-blue figure and the salmon-pink background is so striking and unexpected. It reminds me a bit of the work of Philip Guston, who also used color in a way that was both playful and unsettling. Ultimately, this piece reminds us that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists across time and space.