Nächtliche Berliner Straßenszene 1926

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner made this drawing of a nocturnal Berlin street scene with pencil, and you can just feel the speed and energy of the hand that made it. It’s all tentative, searching lines, like he’s trying to pin down a fleeting impression, trying to catch the chaos and alienation of modern city life. You know, sometimes I think drawing is like thinking with your hand. I can imagine Kirchner out there on the street at night, scribbling away, trying to make sense of the world around him. The nervous energy of the marks really conveys a sense of urgency and unease. Looking at this drawing makes me think about other artists who were capturing modern life around the same time like the Futurists. There's an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time in art, inspiring one another’s creativity. For me, a piece like this is an embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.