Alley 2012

Reza Rahimi Lasko made this pencil drawing, Alley, and it's all about how marks can create a world. It's like watching a scene unfold from a dream. I’m struck by how the artist uses the pencil like it’s a stick of butter, smudging and layering to build depth. Look at the way the light catches the side of the building on the right, those quick, dense marks that give it such solidity. Then see how the artist softens the tree on the left, using looser, more atmospheric lines. The softness contrasts to the dark, solid figure, an almost obscured woman. That contrast between the solid and the atmospheric gives the drawing its haunting quality, like a memory half-forgotten. I'm reminded of Morandi, in the way Lasko can make the ordinary seem so mysterious. Ultimately, this drawing celebrates the act of seeing, reminding us that art isn't just about representing the world, but about creating new ways of experiencing it.