Annotations (Garden) 1964

Constantin Flondor made this drawing called Annotations (Garden) with what looks like blue ink on paper. The looping lines give it a playful, improvisational feel, like the artist was thinking out loud, you know, just letting the pen wander. I see it as a kind of map, maybe not of a real place, but a mental space, the notations of a garden. You can see him, can't you, sitting in the grass somewhere, squinting at the light, trying to capture the essence of these little green beings. He has all these squiggles that overlap and intersect, creating a sense of depth and movement, not to mention his mark-making, which feels almost calligraphic. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbly paintings – that same sense of raw, uninhibited expression. There's a certain intimacy to this piece; I'd say that Flondor seems to be in conversation with other artists, like he's riffing on their ideas, pushing them in new directions, a conversation of mark making and playful exploration across time, where creativity inspires more creativity.