Struikgewas 1939 - 2009

Kees Stoop made this drawing, Struikgewas, with a graphite pencil, but when? I see a landscape of tangled shrubbery in dark greys and blacks. Stoop's mark-making is energetic, raw, and feels exploratory. You can almost see him shifting his weight to make a darker mark, and easing off to let the white of the page breathe through. The lower section feels very activated, the layering of marks forming a screen in front of the undefined space beyond, like staring into the tangled depths of your own brain. The scratchy, chaotic lines create a sense of depth, and almost vibrate on the page. It reminds me of the drawings of Gustav Klimt, who had a similar interest in using line and tone to create a sense of pulsating energy, a surface that flattens and expands all at once. Ultimately, the drawing captures the feeling of being lost in the density of nature. There's no right way to read it, just an invitation to get lost in its textures.