One country 1959

Alekos Kontopoulos made this drawing, "One Country" using coloured pencils, probably in 1953. The scene is immediately legible, though the image seems to be dissolving into pure mark making. I love the textural variation here. The marks are dense, but never completely obscure the white of the paper, and the cross hatching creates an airy rhythm. The coloured pencil feels like a casual, immediate medium, which suits the energy of the composition, but look closely and you'll see that, in places, the waxy pigment has been built up to create a subtle impasto. The turquoise and red are complementary, a pairing that can be electric, but here, they are used sparingly to create a feeling of harmony. The broad strokes of turquoise at the base of the image, against the more hesitant red strokes, create a sense of stability. The drawing feels as though it emerged fully formed. Like a Cy Twombly, it appears casual, but rewards close, sustained looking.