Hoogovens bij IJmuiden Possibly 2013 - 2021

Dirck Nab drew this view of the blast furnaces at IJmuiden, possibly in situ, with graphite or charcoal. I see the artist, standing there in the field, squinting through the smoke and fumes, rapidly capturing the scene on paper. The marks are smudgy, urgent, and fleeting. A kind of dance between observation and memory, a need to record an experience and atmosphere. There are moments of real clarity here, in the smokestacks, contrasted with the indistinct shapes of the sand dunes. I think about the process of working with graphite, that direct contact between hand and surface. The artist must have been thinking about depicting these vast industrial structures. How do you capture something so immense on such a small scale? The image is not trying to provide answers but to express the artist’s curiosity. This sketch evokes the spirit of industrial landscapes while leaving room for imagination. That's what I like about it.