Drawing 25.4.60 1960

Bob Law made this drawing, 25.4.60, with crayon, and it's just gorgeous. Look at the field of concentrated, dark marks! I think it is so satisfying how the crayon gathers and clumps together. I can imagine Bob Law doing this drawing, maybe in his studio, with a singular focus: to fill the page, but also to open up a space, a sort of portal. It’s like he’s asking, what does it mean to make a ‘nothing’ picture, where the point is not some kind of image-magic, but instead to make a dense field of activity? He was interested in the monochrome, following in the wake of other painters, like Malevich, who wanted to pare painting back to its essence. The history of painting is like a long, ongoing conversation between artists across time. Each of them adding their own particular take. In the end, painting is a form of expression, a space of ambiguity where we can explore multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings.