Gezichten, mogelijk maskers c. 1916

This drawing, "Gezichten, mogelijk maskers" by Reijer Stolk, is pure intuition on paper. Look at the tentative, searching lines. I can imagine Stolk working quickly, trying to capture something fleeting. There’s an immediacy here that gets under my skin. Are these faces or masks, as the title suggests? Is the artist trying on different identities, exploring the performative aspects of self? I love the way he hasn't committed to anything. The lines are loose, like thoughts in progress. You can almost feel him deciding which way to go, changing his mind. It makes me think about the relationship between seeing and feeling. The openness of the marks reminds me that art is a process, not a product. That's what I try to do in my own work, embracing the messy, unresolved moments. We’re all just sketching our way through life, right?