Basket, Table, Door, Window, Mirror, Rug #45 1974

Richard Artschwager made this drawing, ‘Basket, Table, Door, Window, Mirror, Rug #45’ on a sheet of paper using what looks like a pretty basic pen. It's a line drawing of an interior, and although it feels spatially correct, there's a sense that something isn’t quite right. The lines are confident but the perspective feels deliberately skewed. There is a curious flatness. Look at the way he renders the folds of the rug, for example. These are not lines that describe volume and weight, rather the folds become graphic shapes that dance on the surface of the paper. There is a lightness and playfulness to the drawing, especially in the floating, disembodied doors. He's playing with perception, challenging our assumptions about space and form. It reminds me of some of the playful architectural interventions of Gordon Matta-Clark, who sliced up buildings to reveal their inner structures. Both artists seem invested in opening up spaces and creating new ways of seeing the built environment. Ultimately, the drawing celebrates the inherent ambiguity of art, inviting us to question what we see and how we perceive the world around us.