Marjo bij een loket before 1946

Eddy de Smet made ‘Marjo bij een loket’ with ink and watercolor. It’s all about lines and washes, which gives it a kind of immediate feel, like he’s just grabbed what’s at hand and gone for it, which, you know, I like. Look at the way he's hatched the cross-hatching in the man's suit. It’s so precise and it describes form so economically, but also with some freedom. This same principle works in the rendering of the woman's dress, in the way a few short lines imply the shape of the folds. The blue watercolor around the characters feels almost like an aura, or a thought bubble. It’s a very clever and simple way of adding depth to the image and directing our attention. This reminds me of Guston, who also had a knack for making the simplest gestures feel profound. For me, art is about this kind of conversation, where ideas and forms bounce around and transform over time.