Hubert Thurnhofer 2017

Gazmend Freitag made this drawing of Hubert Thurnhofer in 2017. I'm thinking it's conté crayon, or maybe pastel, something dry and dusty like that. What I love about this portrait is the texture. You can really see the marks, how they build up to create the form. Like around the eye socket, the way Freitag uses these little strokes to give a sense of depth and volume. The physical act of drawing becomes really apparent. And that makes the portrait feel so immediate and alive. I also like how the red interacts with the white of the paper. The paper isn't just a background, but an active part of the image. Look at the way the lines are smudged, almost like they're fading away into the whiteness. It reminds me a little bit of Giacometti. He also used a similar technique of layering and erasing to create these haunting figures that seem to be constantly disappearing. The way Freitag embraces the ambiguity of the medium. It's not about perfection, it's about process, about the ongoing conversation between the artist and the artwork.