Untitled [verso] 1945 - 1948

This "Untitled [verso]" drawing was made by Franz Kline using graphite and gouache on paper. What I really like about this little drawing is the way that Kline embraces the immediacy of the process. There’s a freedom in the graphite lines, a sense of the hand moving quickly and confidently. You can almost feel the pressure of the graphite on the page, and see how he allows the lines to overlap and intersect. Then you see how the wash of gouache gives it a tonal, almost sculptural effect. Look closely at that little cluster of marks, it looks a bit like a bird there on the left side of the picture plane, all compressed energy. Kline, like many abstract expressionists, was interested in the pure act of painting. This work reminds me a little of Cy Twombly, especially in the casual arrangement of the lines and the way they build up a textured surface. But it's all Kline: raw, spontaneous, and totally cool.