Untitled #1 c. 1980s

This small, untitled drawing by Joel Fisher is made with a delicate line on handmade paper. Look at the way the sparse lines barely describe a form, like a child's drawing of a house, or maybe an upturned boat? The lines are tentative, as if feeling their way across the surface, allowing the paper's texture to guide them. And that small rhombus shape, like a little jewel, intersecting the other lines; it adds a strange tension. I can imagine Fisher in his studio, quietly contemplating this humble piece of paper, letting his hand wander, almost unconsciously, making these marks. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s quiet, meditative drawings – the kind of works that invite you to slow down and contemplate the simple beauty of line and form. In the end, these lines are just marks, but put together, they invite us to project our own feelings and meanings onto them. Isn't it amazing how much feeling can be conveyed with so little?