Untitled #10 c. 1980s

Curator: Joel Fisher's "Untitled #10" circa the 1980s. The piece is a graphite drawing on paper. What do you see first when you approach it? Editor: I see a quiet study in contrasts. The rawness of the torn paper edge meeting the delicate, almost tentative line work is very appealing. It’s understated but intriguing. Curator: I find this compelling because, for me, this is about seeing absence and presence, the unsaid and the said. The wisp of a graphite line on handmade paper echoes a feeling like a memory, a sense of something almost retrievable. Editor: The restrained composition definitely lends itself to that feeling. The singular line almost seems to test the boundaries of form and representation. Is there an attempt here to invoke an archetypal shape? Or is it something entirely new being brought into existence? Curator: That reminds me of Fisher's exploration of chance and control in his work. I wonder about the gesture itself. The paper bears the traces of fibres—the graphite suggesting the potential for connectivity that never materialises. Editor: Yes, and the off-white of the paper itself. Not pristine white, but bearing its own markings, each a silent articulation. Together, these give such texture to something otherwise so graphically minimal. It suggests so many possibilities, depending on where you focus your attention. Curator: Its power for me resides precisely there - its indeterminacy. It becomes a container for feelings, depending on who is gazing. Thinkers since Plato have reflected on how we respond to form and this work offers insight into the matter. Editor: Absolutely. This deceptively simple drawing allows for complex reflection on form and meaning and challenges us to engage on a fundamentally intuitive level. It prompts, invites, and makes few demands, beyond attention. Curator: Beautifully put, and now I feel like going away and just staring at simple shapes! Editor: Precisely the effect "Untitled #10" seeks. Enjoy your reflective staring.