Increase Robinson 1932

Ivan Albright made this lithograph, Increase Robinson, using crayon and needle. It feels like he was looking for something, not just trying to capture a likeness. See how the lines have a searching quality, almost like he's feeling his way around her form. I wonder if he struggled with certain areas, like her hands, which are so heavily worked and dense with lines. It's like he’s trying to find the right form, erasing and redrawing with his crayon. I'm struck by the way he uses shadow to create a sense of depth and weight. Notice the dark areas around her eyes and under her chin, which give her face a sculptural quality. It reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, who also used lithography to explore themes of mortality and the human condition. As artists we're always in conversation with each other, picking up on ideas and techniques from the past and reinterpreting them in our own way. Ultimately, painting is about embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meanings.