Untitled c. 1970s

Curator: Let's discuss this intriguing untitled ink drawing by Mark di Suvero, likely created in the 1970s. Its stark abstraction immediately caught my attention. Editor: For me, the dynamism is what grabs me first. It's almost jarring – a jumble of imposing forms that somehow remains balanced, energetic but a bit ominous. Curator: Ominous? It strikes me more as exploratory, even playful. Di Suvero was deeply involved in pushing the boundaries of sculpture in public spaces, and I wonder if this drawing is a way for him to study monumental forms on an intimate scale. There’s a political element too—di Suvero’s protest against the Vietnam war caused a crisis around public funding for the arts. Editor: I can see that. Given his biography, the aggressive angles suggest resistance to institutional structure. I also note how the lines create cages around the central shapes, hinting at confinement. Curator: That’s a valid reading, viewing the piece as a visual protest. For me, his material experimentation feels rooted in a modernist tradition of material innovation and industrial production from that period. Think of figures like David Smith, using the forms of construction sites and infrastructure to reimagine abstraction, but here it feels almost violent and explosive. Editor: Do you think there is violence? It is precisely the contrast between those dense blocks and the freedom of the line-work that seems intentional and reveals so much depth. He’s wrestling with very visceral emotions in a raw way, a visual release if you will. Curator: Perhaps the scale has to be considered too. As a drawing it hints at sculpture, but lacks the grandeur of scale di Suvero is often noted for. That very difference shifts the meaning in an interesting direction for me. It reframes his material concerns within a domestic context. Editor: Well, considering everything, it’s fascinating how such an apparently simple composition offers so many rich, intersecting layers of interpretation. Curator: Exactly! A compact drawing can invite a long and powerful debate!