Female image 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing of a woman with ink on paper. I see all these little hatching lines building up to form a face, and then a cascade of hair. It makes me think about when I’m drawing with ink. It’s so immediate and permanent. You have to commit to the line. I wonder what Havrylenko was thinking as he made each mark. Was he trying to capture something specific about this woman, or was he just letting the lines flow and seeing what emerged? The way he uses these lines to create shadow and form is really interesting, almost like he’s sculpting with ink. There is a simplicity to his art, which many artists have explored. It reminds me that artmaking is an ongoing conversation, each artist building upon the ideas of those who came before. It’s like we are all in a big, messy studio together.