Cast Iron Gate and Fence c. 1936

Ray Price’s "Cast Iron Gate and Fence" is a drawing that captures the beautiful, brutal elegance of forged metal. It’s all graphite and watercolor, a combination that, to me, speaks of process, of sketching and refining, of finding the form through layers. Check out the way the watercolor washes over the central panel, a light, almost ghostly green that brings the willow tree to life. The paint is thin, so transparent, allowing the underdrawing to peek through. It’s not about hiding the work but celebrating it. This area is balanced by the steely precision of the graphite that makes up the fence itself. The artist has captured the play of light on metal. The whole piece reminds me of the drawings of Eva Hesse, who also loved to reveal the process of making, embracing the imperfect and provisional as part of the work. And isn’t that what art is all about, an ongoing conversation, a process of seeing and thinking, of making and unmaking?