Hubert Thurnhofer 2017

Gazmend Freitag made this drawing of Hubert Thurnhofer in 2017, and it looks like he used Conté crayon, or maybe pastel, something dry and dusty. I love the hatching and the way the lines build up to create the form. It’s like Freitag is thinking out loud with the crayon, letting the marks accumulate until Hubert emerges from the page. I imagine Freitag really looking at Hubert, trying to capture his essence with these simple materials. Maybe they were having a conversation while he was drawing, or maybe it was silent, just the sound of the crayon scratching against the paper. The hand up to the face is very good, the artist’s hand mimicking Hubert’s maybe. There’s a real tenderness here, a sense of connection between the artist and his subject. It reminds me of some of the portrait drawings by Alice Neel. Artists are always in conversation with each other, even across generations, picking up on each other’s ideas, and pushing them further. It’s a beautiful thing.