Untitled (hunched women and other studies) [recto] c. 1968

Christina Ramberg made this untitled study, likely using graphite or a similar medium, on a sheet of paper. It looks like a page torn from a sketchbook, full of exploratory marks. I love how Ramberg lays bare her process. There's a real mix of clarity and ambiguity. Some of the images are pretty clearly defined, like the corsets and clothing, but then you have these mysterious, hunched figures in the lower right. Their forms are repeated in little boxes above, like she’s extracting and isolating them for examination. It’s like she's dissecting an idea, breaking it down into its essential parts. The thing that pulls me in here is how Ramberg’s sketches feel like a conversation. It's the kind of conversation that can be messy and full of false starts. It reminds me of Guston’s late work; both artists share a preoccupation with the body and its vulnerabilities, and they let it all hang out. But that’s the thing about art, isn’t it? It’s more about the questions than the answers.