Three Figure Studies [recto] 1945 - 1948

Franz Kline made this rapid drawing with ink on paper. It looks like he’s warming up, trying to get something going, right? Like he's letting his hand do the work, figuring things out as he goes. The ink is pretty dark, like black coffee, and it soaks right into the paper, leaving these sharp, definite edges. I like the way he uses these bold lines to suggest volume and weight, especially in the standing figure. You can almost feel the curves of the body, even though it's just a few strokes. And then there's that rectangle at the bottom, filled with these looping, swirling lines. It's like a condensed version of all the energy in the other figures, all tangled up and pushing against the edges. Kline was obsessed with de Kooning, who was also trying to make sense of the figure. Both artists let the process become the point, with the painting or drawing being a record of the search. It's all about embracing the mess, you know?