Gezichten, mogelijk maskers c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made these 'Faces, possibly masks' with graphite on paper, and looking at the page you get the impression that it's about process. The lines are so provisional, so quick, like the artist is feeling around for the image. The drawing isn't overworked. It's like Stolk is thinking through his pencil. And what are these faces? I love how the artist titled the piece, 'possibly masks'. That one face on the right is so expressive. See the open mouth? What is that figure saying, or screaming? It's a very simple line, but so descriptive. The masks call to mind James Ensor, another artist who wasn't afraid of a little grotesquerie. All art is about a conversation, about echoing the past and speaking to the future.