Partal 1972

Leonard Lehrer made 'Partal' using ink, coaxing an impressive tonal range from monochrome. Lehrer has carefully built up the image through many tiny, subtle, repetitive marks. I can imagine Lehrer in the studio, perhaps looking out of the window at a garden scene for inspiration, making endless tiny marks, building up from light to dark. The trees appear to be looming over the structured garden. The marks have an immense density in places; I can imagine that the tonal range came about after a great deal of concentration and time. What's amazing is how Lehrer controls the image through such delicate marks. There is almost no painterly interruption, no drips or blurring - just pure control. The act of drawing becomes a form of meditation through repetition and marks. Artists learn from each other through time, in an ongoing exchange of ideas; ambiguity allows for endless interpretations.