Flight IV 1963

John Dowell made this black ink artwork, “Flight IV” using energetic marks that give it a feeling of immediacy. You can imagine the artist, perhaps, starting with a single line, then building outward, shifting, and reworking the image until it rises from the paper. Dowell coaxes an evocative landscape that is both familiar and strange. The ground emerges through a mass of marks, with a strong contrast that gives a sense of depth. From there, a central form curls and twists and appears to take flight. I wonder, while making this print, if Dowell felt like he was wrestling with the material, pushing it to its limits, almost like a dance? There’s an amazing sense of freedom in the strokes – the gesture of the hand, the feeling of the ink as it moves across the page, the push and pull, risk and error. Ultimately, this artwork reminds us that artists are always in conversation, building upon one another’s ideas, inspiring new forms of creativity and expression.